Bearded Sprangletop
Bearded Sprangletop
Leptochloa fusca (L.) Kunth ssp. fascicularis (Lam.) N. Snow
Poaceae (Grass Family)
▲ ▼ mature, flowering plants
▲ illustration of leaves and stem bases
▲ flowering stem
▲ uprooted mature plant
▲ ▼ inflorescences
▲ ▼ inflorescences
▲ node
▲ leaf collar region, showing membranous ligule and white leaf blade midvein
▲ several clumps near pasture in Kansas
Bearded Sprangletop:
- Similar to Amazon sprangletop in growth habit
- Leaves are hairless to barely hairy, compared to more hairy amazon sprangletop
- Leaf midvein is whitish; ligule is thin, often jagged-edged
- Inflorescence is in a panicle with spikelets held tight against the side branches
- Base of panicle is often partially enclosed in a leaf (flag leaf)
- Is found in fertile soils in reduced tillage and other row crops; prefers moist soils