Sporobolus compositus (Poir.) Mer. var. drummondii (Trin.) Kartesz & Gandhi

Longleaf Dropseed

Habitat: Dry, sandy, or rocky soil.

Range: New Brunswick and Maine, south to North Carolina, west to New Mexico, north to Washington.

Aids to Identification: Sporobolus compositus var. drummondii is a perennial with hard, knotty stem bases or rhizomes. Lemmas are glabrous and smooth. The pericarp gelatinizes and slips off the seed when wet. The first glume is lanceolate and the glumes are shorter than the lemmas. The panicle is 4-16 mm wide and the caryopsis is 1-2mm long. S. compositus var. drummondii can be distinguished from S. compositus var. compositus by the thickness of the reproductive stems (1-2 mm thick vs. 2-5 mm thick) and by the number of spikelets per inflorescence when pressed (16-36 per square cm vs. 30-90 per square cm).

Ecological characteristics: None noted.

Phenology: Flowers in September - October.

Family: Poaceae

Synonyms: Sporobolus asper (Beauv.) Kunth var. pilosus (Vasey) A.S. Hitchc.; S. drummondii (Trin.) Vasey.

Known Distribution in Maine: This rare plant has been documented from a total of 1 town(s) in the following county(ies): Aroostook.

Reason(s) for rarity: Northern limit of range.

Conservation considerations: None noted.

For more information, see the Native Plant Trust's Conservation Plan for Sporobolus compositus var. compositus.