Southern Forest Experiment Station New Orieans, Low3iarla Harold E. Grelen and Mph H. Hughes ACMNCWLEDGEMEWI’ As this handbook is essentially a revision of the Forest Service Research Paper SO-23, “Common plants of longleaf pine-bluestem ranges,” (Grelen and Duvall 1966) and much of that information is repeated here, the authors are indebted to Vinson L. Duvall, U.S. Forest Service, retired, and to all those who helped with the previous book. About a dozen Federal and State biologists ano ecologists from selected areas of the South assisted in expanding the list of plants to be included in this book. A. W. (Al) Johnson, now retired from the U.S. Forest. Service, assisted with the earlier book and provided numerous plant collections and photographs for use by the illustrator in this revision. Bryan A. Jowers, of the Louisiana Coi- lege Department of Art, drew all illustrations of plants added in this revision. Drs. Charles M. Allen and R. Dale Thomas, plant taxonomists at Louisiana State University at Eunice and Northeast Louisiana University, respectively, reviewed the manuscript and made valuabie suggestions regarding plant uses, common names and closely related species. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ..................................................... 1 GRASSES ..................................................................2 Bluestems ............................................................... 2 Panicum Grasses ...................................................14 Paspalum Grasses ..................................................30 Miscellaneous Grasses ........................................... 36 GRASSLIKE PLANTS ...........................................60 FORBS .......................................................................73 Legumes .................................................................73 Composites .............................................................90 Miscellaneous Forbs ..............................................118 BIBLIOGRAPHY .....................................................136 GLOSSARY ...............................................................138 INDEX OF PLANT NAMES ...............................142 i . .* . .*: .*-. .*.. .*.. ..‘.... ..y.. .* .*.:.. .*.:. ~~~~~...t Longleaf-slash-bluestem . : .*‘.*.. .*.. -.*y.. : . $.$... -:.**. .*.. .*.. :y. ..a.. .*.:. ..-. .::. * .; .*... :‘.....4 0:. .:.. .:.j... ..*.$.~:.~.*. ..:..:. .y.-.~:;;.$~. ...*.* *:.;:. .;. ..:....:.::‘. 1 Long leaf -slash-w iregrass .*a. ..$::’ : f-l ..*. \ I Loblolly-shortleaf-hardwood i ml Upland hard wood-bluestem Marsh and prairie Bottomland hardwoods Range Types of the South. Common Herbaceous Plants of Southern Forest Range Harold E. Grelen and Ralph H. Hughes because there are now several books illustrating and INTRODUCTION describing southern trees, shrubs, and woody vines, including the wildlife food values of such plants (Dean 1968, HalIs 1977, Halls and Ripley 1961, Oefinger This handbook describes and illustrates selected and Halls 1974). grasses, grasslike plants, and forbs found on pine or Plants are described in general terms with clues for pine-hardwood sites from east Texas to Virginia. identification and separation from a closely related Some, like little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium, plant or one with similar appearance, where appropri- are valuable forage plants Southwide. Others, such as ate. Forage value for livestock and wildlife, a techni- Nuttall wildindigo, Baptisia nuttallianu, are worth- cal description, and geographic range are also given. less weeds. Plant nomenclature generally follows that of the An earlier publication, “Common Plants of Long- “National List of Scientific Plant Names” (USDA leaf PineBluestem Range,” (Grelen and Duvalll966), 1982). Common names were gleaned from checklists dealt with plants common to the longleaf-slash pine or other publications (Wolff 1954; Gould 1969; Hil- bluestem range type from east Texas to south Ala- mon 1964; Leithead, Yarlett, and Shiflet 1971). bama and the northern part of the Florida panhandle. “Standardized Plant Names” (Kelsey and Dayton In addition to the herbaceous plants from the pre- 1942) was also consulted, and at least one name was vious publication, this book includes plants from the coined by the authors. longleaf-slash pinewiregrass type of Florida, south Scientific names following the title of each plant Georgia, and the Carolinas and the southwide lob- description are those indicated as preferred in the lolly-shortleaf pine-hardwood type (see map). Many “National List of Scientific Plant Names.” Names in plants are found in all three types. Range types coin- parenthesis following the preferred name may be cide with timber types (USDA 1,969) except that the more familiar and most are valid synonyms. Pre- longleaf-slash pine forest type is divided into the ferred scientific names elsewhere in the text may be longleaf-slash pine-bluestem and the longleaf-slash followed by a synonym in parenthesis. pinewiregrass range types. Resources of the range Metric measurements are used in the technical sec- types included in this publication, as well as others tion of each species description and in the illustra- indicated on the type maps, are discussed in “Range tions. In the general section, intended for the non- Resources of the South” (Southern Section SRM botanist, English measurements are used. The habit 1974). Woody plants were omitted from this revision silhouettes show both metric and English scales. - Harold E. Grelen is Range Scientist, Southern Forest Experiment Station, Forest Service-USDA, Pineville, LA. Ralph H. Hughes is Range Scientist (retired), Southeastern Forest Experiment Station, Forest Service-USDA, Fort Myers, FL. 1 GRASSES The native grasses of the South vary widely in size, termed the collar. Many grasses have a lfgule (a habit, environmental adaptability, and usefulness. membranous scale or fringe of hairs) at this juncture Except for the woody bamboos, all species are annual on the inner surface. Although these features are or perennial herbs. Height varies from a few inches to usually enough to distinguish grasses from other 25 feet. Bunch grasses predominate, but many plants, it is sometimes difficult to differentiate grasses creep by rhizomes or stolons. Despite these between plants of the grass family, Gramineae, and variations, many vegetative characters are relatively the closely related sedge and rush families, Cypera- constant for all grasses. Stems are typically hollow, ceae and Juncaceae. though occasionally solid, with prominent joints or Hitchcock (1950) numbered the grasses in the nodes. Leaves, arising alternately from the nodes in United States, excluding Alaska and Hawaii, at 185 two ranks, are elongate; although some are not much genera and 1,518 species. Fernald (1950) indicated more than 1 inch long, width is never more than one 110 genera with 487 species for the central and north- third the length. Leaf margins and veins are approxi- eastern regions of the U.S. Louisiana has 99 genera mately parallel. The part of the leaf that clasps the and 328 species (Allen 1980). Ward (1968) lists 101 stem is the sheath, and in most grasses the edges are genera and 423 species for Florida. Thus, approxi- not fused and the sheath is said to be open. The upper mately half of the grass genera found in the nation or free portion of the leaf is called the blade. The junc- are represented in the South. ture of the sheath and blade on the outer surface is BbStX?mS--Andropogon spp., Schizachyrium spp., and Bathriochloa spp. The bluestems, known also as “beardgrasses” or to more than 6 feet in big bluestem. Little bluestem “sagegrasses,” are the most valuable native forage and slender bluestem are the main forage species on grasses in the South. They usually furnish more than most longleaf pine-bluestem sites, and creeping blues- half the forage for range cattle. All bluestems were tern is important on longleaf pinewiregrass sites of included in the single genus Andropogon by Hitch- Florida and Georgia. Bushy bluestem often forms cock (1950), although he divided his generic key into extensive stands on soils too wet for upland species. sections corresponding to genera of earlier authors. Most species do not flower until late summer or Gould (1967) revised the genus Andropogon, recog- fall; hence, identification during much of the year nizing as genera the subgenera Schizachyrium and must be from vegetative characters. Culms are solid, Bothriochba as well as Andropogon. Several recent while those of most grasses are hollow. Tufts gener- taxonomic manuals (Correll and Johnston 1970, God- ally spread by tillering, but a few species, e.g., pinehill frey and Wooten 1979, Allen 1980) and the “National bluestem and big bluestem, may be rhizomatous. List of Scientific Plant Names” (USDA 1982) have Inflorescences consist of several to many hairy adopted Gould’s revision. racemes (spikelike panicle branches); these often pro- No species of Bothriochloa was considered com- trude from a spathelike sheath at maturity. Fertile mon enough in the South to be included in this book. spikelets usually terminate in a twisted or bent awn. Silver bluestem, Bothriochloa saccharoides (Swartz) Old seed stalks, which commonly persist well into the Rydb., is found occasionally in Louisiana and as far growing season, may aid identification. east as Alabama. Southern bluestems are mainly bunch grasses. Heights range from about 1 foot in fineleaf bluestem Chalky Bluestem-Andropogon capillipes Nash-(A. virginicus var.