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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.

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