Red Sprangletop
Red Sprangletop
Leptochloa panicea (Retz.) Ohwi ssp. brachiata (Steudl.) N. Snow
(formerly Leptochloa filiformis)
Poaceae (Grass Family)
▲ field with large population of red sprangletop in Arkansas
mature plants in Arkansas (above) and Oklahoma (below)
▲ ▼ inflorescences
▲ ▼ inflorescences
▲ ▼ ligule, sheath and collar regions
Red Sprangletop:
- medium to large, upright to spreading grass, with hairy leaf sheaths and tall, wide panicles with tiny golden to red spikelets--panicles may be up to 18" tall and 6-10" wide on robust plants
- ligule is fringed with hairs
- found in fertile sandy and loam soils in cultivated crops
- more common in southern Missouri and southern U.S.