The Dichanthelium Series: Dichanthelium lanuginosum
This is the most commonly encountered Dichanthelium in the eastern United States. Correspondingly, it is the most generalist species of Dichanthelium in the eastern United States. It has 26 synonyms that loosely represent its range of morphological and geographical variation. It is often lumped with D. acuminatum . In Michigan, Wisconsin and the Chicago region, it is erroneously referred to as D. implicatum (a travesty that won’t soon be rectified and that largely hinges on the cult of personality). The sheaths are pubescent with short uniform hairs. The vernal stem leaves (biggest leaves on the stem) are oriented nearly 90 degrees from the stem. The adaxial leaf surfaces can range from glabrous to villose to velutinose; consistency is found at the population level. The spikelets average around 1.6mm long. Ligule length is the strongest character. Unlike D. acuminatum (to which it is only distantly related), D. lanuginosum has a uniformly long (2.0-4.0mm) ligule. It a...