Your help is appreciated. We depend on donations to help keep this site free and up to date for you. Can you please help us?

Donate

Native Plant Trust: Go Botany Discover thousands of New England plants

Sporobolus clandestinus — hidden dropseed

Copyright: various copyright holders. To reuse an image, please click it to see who you will need to contact.

Facts

Although it is common in the southeastern United States, hidden dropseed is very rare in New England, where it has been collected only in Connecticut, on ledges, ridges and rocky slopes.

Habitat

Cliffs, balds, or ledges, ridges or ledges, talus and rocky slopes, woodlands

New England distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

Found this plant? Take a photo and post a sighting.

North America distribution

Adapted from BONAP data

enlarge

Characteristics

Habitat
terrestrial
New England state
Connecticut
Leaf blade width
1.5–4 mm
Inflorescence branches
  • the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
  • there are no branch points between the base of the inflorescence axis and the flowers, or they are not obvious
Spikelet length
4–10 mm
Glume relative length
neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets
Awn on glume
the glume has no awn
One or more florets
there is more than one floret per spikelet
Lemma awn length
0 mm
Leaf ligule length
0.1–0.4 mm
Anther length
2.2–1.8 mm
Show all characteristics
  • Flowers

    Anther length
    2.2–1.8 mm
    Anther number
    2–3
    Awn on glume
    the glume has no awn
    Floret lower bract texture
    the lemma is thin and flexible
    Floret types within spikelet
    all the florets within a spikelet are similar
    Glume relative length
    neither glume is quite as long as all of the florets
    Glume veins
    • 0
    • 1
    Inflorescence arrangement
    the spikelets are uniform
    Inflorescence axis orientation
    the inflorescence axis is straight
    Inflorescence branches
    • the flowers are attached to branches rather than to the main axis of the inflorescence
    • there are no branch points between the base of the inflorescence axis and the flowers, or they are not obvious
    Inflorescence length
    50–110 mm
    Inflorescence type (general)
    • the inflorescence is a spike, or is spike-like, lacking obvious branches
    • the spikelets are borne on stalks or on branches
    Inflorescence type (specific)
    the inflorescence is branched, and the branches do NOT both grow from the same side of the plant AND look like spikes
    Lemma awn base
    NA
    Lemma awn length
    0 mm
    Lemma awn number
    the lemma has no awn
    Lemma cross-section
    the lemma is flat or rounded if you cut across the midpoint
    Lemma hairs
    • the lemma has fine hairs between the veins
    • the lemma is hairless between the veins
    Lemma surface
    the surface of the lemma is relatively smooth (not counting any longitudinal veins or hairs)
    Lemma tip
    the lemma tip is a simple point, with or without an awn (long narrow extension ending in a point)
    Lemma vein number
    1
    One or more florets
    there is more than one floret per spikelet
    Palea relative length
    palea is longer than lemma
    Spikelet axis tip
    there is no extension of the spikelet axis beyond the tip of the spikelet
    Spikelet length
    4–10 mm
    Spikelets spiny
    the spikelets do not appear spiny
    Upper glume shape
    the upper glume is widest at or below the middle
  • Fruits or seeds

    Seed length
    1.5–3.5 mm
  • Growth form

    Lifespan
    the plant lives more than two years
  • Leaves

    Leaf auricles
    the leaves do not have auricles
    Leaf blade cross-section
    the leaf blade is more or less flat in cross-section, or slightly folded or rolled inwards
    Leaf blade width
    1.5–4 mm
    Leaf ligule length
    0.1–0.4 mm
    Leaf ligule type
    the leaf ligule is in the form of fine hairs
    Leaf sheath closed around stem
    the margins of the leaf sheath are overlapping and not fused together except in the basal half (or less)
    Leaf sheath hairs
    • there are hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
    • there are no hairs on the surface of the leaf sheath
  • Place

    Habitat
    terrestrial
    New England state
    Connecticut
    Specific habitat
    • cliffs, balds, or ledges
    • ridges or ledges
    • talus or rocky slopes
    • woodlands
  • Stem, shoot, branch

    Stem spacing
    the stems grow close together in compact clusters or tufts

Wetland status

Not classified

In New England

Distribution

Connecticut
present
Maine
absent
Massachusetts
present
New Hampshire
absent
Rhode Island
absent
Vermont
absent

Conservation status

Exact status definitions can vary from state to state. For details, please check with your state.

Connecticut
extremely rare (S-rank: S1), endangered (code: E)
Massachusetts
unranked (S-rank: SNR)

From Flora Novae Angliae dichotomous key

1.  Sporobolus clandestinus (Biehler) A.S. Hitchc. NC

hidden dropseed. Sporobolus asper (Beauv.) Kunth var. clandestinus (Biehler) Shinners; 
S. compositus (Poir.) Mer. var. clandestinus (Biehler) Wipff & S.D. Jones • CT; also reported 
from MA by Peterson et al. (2003), but specimens are unknown. On ledge and thin soils 
of ridges and rocky slopes, usually on trap rock, but also occurring on limestone.

Native to North America?

Yes

Sometimes confused with

Sporobolus compositus

Family

Poaceae

Genus

Sporobolus