North Carolina Botanical Garden

Plant Index

Scientific Name:
Common Name:
Genus:
Family:

Chasmanthium sessiliflorum

Chasmanthium sessiliflorum (Poir.) Yates

longleaf spikegrass

Synonym(s): Chasmanthium laxum ssp. sessiliflorum, Chasmanthium laxum var. sessiliflorum

Image ID: 13586
Image by: Sorrie, Bruce A.
Image Collection: NCBG Digital Library

PLANT INDEX

ID_PLANT: CHSE2
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Chasmanthium sessiliflorum
Include in WOTAS: 0
Publish to Web: 1
Last Modified: 2019-05-10

GENUS INDEX

GENUS CODE: CHASM
GENUS SCIENTIFIC: Chasmanthium
GENUS AUTHORITY: Link
GENUS COMMON: Woodoats
GENUS SUMMARY: A genus of 5 species, perennials, endemic to se. North America.
GENUS IDENTIFICATION:
GENUS REFERENCES: Sánchez-Ken & Clark in FNA (2003a); Yates (1966a, 1966c)=Z.

FAMILY INDEX

FAMILY CODE: POACEA
FAMILY SCIENTIFIC: Poaceae
FAMILY AUTHORITY: (R. Brown) Barnhart 1895 or GRAMINEAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789
FAMILY COMMON: Grass Family
FAMILY SUMMARY: A family of about 771 genera and 12,074 species, herbs (and some shrubs and trees), cosmopolitan. Tribal classification largely follows FNA (2003a, 2007a), with some changes based on subsequent research, as for instance in the Chloridoideae (Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson 2010a).
FAMILY REFERENCE: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a, 2007a)=FNA; Hitchcock and Chase (1950)=HC; Blomquist (1948); Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson (2010a, 2010b). Key to genera adapted in large part from FNA.

NCBG DESCRIPTIVES

INTRO:
STEMS:
LEAVES:
INFLORESCENCE:
FLOWERS:
FRUITS:
COMMENTS:
HEIGHT: 1 to 2 ft

DURATION: Perennial
HABIT: Grass/Grasslike

LEAF ARRANGEMENT:
LEAF COMPLEXITY:
LEAF RETENTION:

FLORAL CHARACTERISTICS
SYMMETRY:
BLOOM TIME: Aug-Oct

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
					x	x	x	x	x	x

BLOOM COLOR:

White	Red	Pink	Orange	Yellow	Green	Blue	Lavender	Purple	Violet	Brown	Not Applicable
				x	x

FRUITING PERIOD:

DISTRIBUTION
HABITAT TYPE:
NATIVE RANGE: southeastern United States

HORTICULTURAL
Plant Sale Text: This perennial grass is found in upland woods and prefers part-shade to shade. It produces delicate inflorescences in the summer on stalks that rise 2 to 3 ft above the grass clump. The spikelet seedheads remain through fall into winter. It spreads by seed and rhizome, and in a naturalized setting will form scattered patches of the grass in the understory. It provides food and habitat for birds and small mammals.

Bloom Table Text:

NCBG Location:

Cultural Notes:

SOIL MOISTURE: Dry, Average
LIGHT EXPOSURE: Part Shade, Shade
MINIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
MAXIMUM HARDINESS ZONE:
GERMINATION CODE:
WILDLIFE VALUE: Butterfly Friendly, Bird Friendly
DEER RESISTANCE:

GRIM COLLECTIONS

Coll_id	Project	Collection date	Collector	Action
2759	NPMD	2022-09-15	Searles	View

GRIM ACCESSIONS

acc_id	acc_num	acc_dt	coll_id	Action
9242	2019-0002	2019-01-24	0	View
9243	2019-0030	2020-05-11	0	View

GRIM PLANTINGS

plt_num	acc_id	loc_num	pers_num	inst_dt	Action
12365	9242	111	Liloia	2011-01-01	View
12366	9243	23	Liloia	2019-11-08	View

USDA PLANTS DATABASE

USDA Symbol: CHSE2
USDA Common Name: Longleaf Woodoats
Native Status: L48 (N)
Distribution: USA (AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MO, MS, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX, VA)
Duration: Perennial
Growth Habit: Graminoid

NATIONAL WETLAND INDICATOR STATUS

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:	FAC				FAC	FAC		FAC

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 2016 National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.3 (Lichvar, R.W., D.L. Banks, W.N. Kirchner, and N.C. Melvin. 2016. The National Wetland Plant List: 2016 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2016-30: 1-17. Published 28 April 2016. ISSN 2153 733X). Regions: AGCP-Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain, AK-Alaska, AW-Arid West, CB-Caribbean, EMP-Eastern Mountains and Piedmont, GP-Great Plains, HI-Hawaii, MW-Midwest, NCNE-Northcentral and Northeast, WMCV-Western Mountains, Valleys & Coast

2018 Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species of North Carolina

NHP ID	S RANK	ROUNDED S RANK	G RANK	ROUNDED G RANK	STATE STATUS	FEDERAL STATUS
377023	S2S3	S2	G5TNR	TNR	W1

This information is derived from the 2018 North Carolina Natural Heritage Program List of Rare Plant Species.

WEAKLEY FLORA

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Chasmanthium sessiliflorum var. sessiliflorum
COMMON NAME: Longleaf Spikegrass
SYNONYMY: [< Chasmanthium sessiliflorum - C, FNA, GW, K, Tn, Va, W, Z; < Uniola sessiliflora Poiret - F, G, HC, RAB; < Uniola longifolia Scribner - S; < Chasmanthium laxum (Linnaeus) Yates var. sessiliflorum (Poiret) L. Clark - WH3]
PHENOLOGY: Aug-Oct.
HABITAT: Moist hardwood forests, swamps, other moist habitats.
COMMENTS: Widespread in se. North America, north to se. VA, TN, AR, and OK. This species and C. laxum are morphologically somewhat similar, but their treatment as varieties of a single species is completely unwarranted. They frequently co-occur (especially on the Gulf Coastal Plain), growing side by side, and show no sign of intergradation.
RANGE MAP: Chasmanthium sessiliflorum var. sessiliflorum.png

Key to Map Symbols

ABOUT FAMILY (Weakley Flora)
Poaceae (R. Brown) Barnhart 1895 or GRAMINEAE A.L. de Jussieu 1789 (Grass Family)
SUMMARY: A family of about 771 genera and 12,074 species, herbs (and some shrubs and trees), cosmopolitan. Tribal classification largely follows FNA (2003a, 2007a), with some changes based on subsequent research, as for instance in the Chloridoideae (Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson 2010a).
REFERENCE: Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003a, 2007a)=FNA; Hitchcock and Chase (1950)=HC; Blomquist (1948); Peterson, Romaschenko, & Johnson (2010a, 2010b). Key to genera adapted in large part from FNA.

ABOUT GENUS (Weakley Flora)
Chasmanthium Link (Woodoats)
SUMMARY: A genus of 5 species, perennials, endemic to se. North America.
REFERENCE: Sánchez-Ken & Clark in FNA (2003a); Yates (1966a, 1966c)=Z.

HERBARIUM RESOURCES

SERNEC: Find Chasmanthium sessiliflorum in Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)
UNC SERNEC: Find Chasmanthium sessiliflorum in University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Herbarium - Southeast Regional Network of Experts and Collections (if available)

WEB RESOURCES

USDA: Find Chasmanthium sessiliflorum in USDA Plants
NPIN: Find Chasmanthium sessiliflorum in NPIN Database
FNA: Find Chasmanthium sessiliflorum in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Chasmanthium sessiliflorum

IMAGE USE RECORDS

ID IMAGE: 13586 - Primary Image FloraQuest Plant Detail Page (Landscape Preferred)
ID IMAGE1: 13586 - Primary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE2: 13585 - Secondary Image WOTAS
ID IMAGE3: 13586 - Primary Image Plant Sale Sign (Landscape Only)
ID IMAGE4: 0 - Primary Image New Plant Sale Label (Portrait Only)

From the Image Gallery

Image ID: 13585

Image ID: 36385

Image ID: 13587

4 photo(s) available in the Image Gallery

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