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FALL PANICGRASS
Panicum dichotomiflorum
Alternative Names
Fall panic grass, fall panicum, kneegrass, spreading panicgrass, spreading panicum, spreading witchgrass, sprouting crabgrass, and zigzag grass. The genus, panicum refers to the type of seed head. Dichotomiflorum refers to the individual flowers arranged in pairs. Fall panicgrass resembles switchgrass (Panicum virgatum) and witchgrass (Panicum capillare). However, switchgrass is a perennial, clump-forming grass that does not fall to the ground after the begin-ning of winter. Witchgrass has a rounder, dense seed head and the seeds are smaller.
Description
General: Grass Family (Poaceae). It is a tufted, annual, vigorous grass, which belongs to the largest genus. Culms are erect to ascending and range in heights of 6 feet. Basally, the culms are decumbent to geniculate and root at the nodes. The culms bend at the nodes forming a zig-zag pattern; hence the name zigzag grass. The blades are flat, smooth, up to 20 inches long, and ¾ inch wide. The margins on the underside are scantily ciliate. The leaf sheaths are loose, pur-plish, and smooth with the margins thin and dry. The ligules are membranous and are sur-rounded in thick, small, white hairs. The inflorescence is a panicle located on the top of the main stem or on the primary stems. The spikelets are purple to brown, oblong and range in lengths of up to 10 inches long. The first glume is about ¹∕20 inch long and with 1 to 3 indistinct nerves. The second glume and the sterile lemma are even in length, green or partially purple, acute, 5 to 7 nerved, and are twice as long as the first glume. The fertile palea and lemma are acute, light to dark brown or purple, and ⅛ to ¹∕6 inch long. The caryopsis is yellow-brown, and elliptic.
Wildlife: Small seed eating birds and ducks eat the small seeds. Fall panicgrass produces a large number of seeds. After the first frost, the seeds fall to the water and the sites are used as feeding and loafing areas for ducks, coots, and wading birds. It provides browse for deer and rabbits.
