Western Panicgrass, Dichanthelium acuminatum, Eloise ButlerWildflower Garden

	Grasses of the Eloise Butler Wildflower Garden
	Common Name	Scientific Name	Plant Family	Garden Location	Height	Prime Season
	Western Panicgrass	Dichanthelium acuminatum (Sw.) Gould & C.A. Clark var. fasciculatum (Torr.) Freckmann	Poaceae (Grasses)		6" to 30"	June and July-Sept
	Native Status	Western Panicgrass is a variety of the more general D. acuminatum classifications that are generally known as Tapered Rosette Grasses or Hairy Panicgrasses. This sub-species is widespread across North American occurring in all the lower 48 states. In Minnesota it occurs in various counties of the state, widely spread.
Notes	Hairy Panicgrass is a tufted perennial with long hairy stems and tuffs of hair at the nodes. There is extensive variation between subspecies in leaf hairiness and leaf dimensions, and this species also crosses with several other species of Dichanthelium. There are a number of subspecies. Subspecies fasciculatum (Western Panicgrass) has wider leaves - 1/4" to 1/2" (6 to 12 mm) wide, the flower spikelets are 1.5 to 1.8 mm long. Hair is less than 3mm. It is usually found in thin woods, moist meadows and low prairies. These plants have two periods of blooming. Primary flower heads are produced in June and early July. Fruiting begins in mid-June. Secondary flower heads come from the leaf axils from July through September. The secondary flowers remain closed and are self-pollinated and produce more seed than the first flowers. Dichanthelium is from the Greek, meaning twice flowering.


Above - note the hair on the stem and leaves. Photo above and at top left ©Anna Gardner, Iowa State University.	Above: Dichanthelium acuminatum var. fasciculatum. USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions. 3 vols. Charles Scribner's Sons, New York. Vol. 1: 153.

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References: Plant characteristics are generally from sources 28c, W2, W3, W5 & W6. Distribution principally from W2 and W1. Planting history generally from 1, 4 & 4a. Other sources by specific reference. See Reference List for details.

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