Dichanthelium scoparium (Lam.) Gould

Velvet Witch Grass; Broom Panic Grass

Herb

Perennial

Vascular

Velvet Panic Grass is a native short-lived perennial in the grass family. It occurs throughout Alabama. Velvet Panic Grass primarily occurs on wet sites such as creek banks, pond margins, and wet ditches, where it often forms dense stands. It infrequently occurs on dryer disturbed sites. Velvet Panic Grass is a perennial from short rhizomes. It over winters as a rosette of basal leaves. During the summer it produces erect stems that are up to 4 feet in height. At this time the basal and lower stem leaves wither, but persist. The stems are green in color. The internodes (areas between where leaves are attached) are velvety pubescent with grayish-white hairs. The hairs are long and prominent, and can be seen for a distance. The nodes (point on the stem where a leaf attaches) is constricted and glabrous. Early stems are unbranched. In the autumn stems become repeatedly branched in the upper half with recurved branches. Stem leaves are alternate, lanceolate in outline, with soft pubescence on both surfaces. Long cilia (hairs) often extend out from the margins of the leaf, especially at the base. The base of the leaf is cordate. The leaf sheath (wrapping around the stem from the base of the blade to the node) is pubescent with long papillose-based hairs. Flowers are produced in panicles. The primary panicles are terminal and extend well beyond the leaves. Secondary panicles are formed later in the year. They are produced from near where the blade meets the stems and partially enclosed by the leaf and leaf sheath. The fruit is a grain. Velvet Panic Grass has been used as a native ground cover to prevent erosion. The seed are a source of food for birds and small mammals, and the foliage is consumed by turkey and deer during the winter.--A. Diamond

Updated: 6 Jun 2020-BK;

Native FACW (NWPL)

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