Diplachne fusca (L.) P. Beauv. ssp. fascicularis (Lam.) P.M. Peterson & N. Snow

bearded sprangletop

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Graminoid

Perennial

Vascular

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Mitchell and Tucker (1997) recognized Diplachne acuminata and D. fascicularis as non-native and D. maritima as native. The former two taxa had been considered to be rare introductions (Mitchell 1986, New York Flora Association 1990). Snow (1997, 1998, 2003) lumped these three taxa under Diplachne fusca ssp. fascicularis (as Leptochloa fusca ssp. fascicularis) and considered this taxon native to temperate North America. Therefore, in New York we consider the broadly circumscribed D. fusca ssp. fascicularis to be native.

Snow (1997, 1998, 2003) treated Diplachne fascicularis (as Leptochloa fascicularis) as a subspecies of D. fusca (as L. fusca) because he believed it integrates repeatedly with D. fusca s.s. (as L. fusca s.s.). Snow’s (1998) taxonomic decision was based on the “examination of several thousand herbarium specimens (representing over 50 herbaria) of this species complex from throughout its range, coupled with fieldwork in North America, southern Africa, and Australia, as well as multivariate statistical analysis of eleven population samples.” Snow (1997, 2003) also lumped D. maritima (= Leptochloa fusca var. maritima, L. maritima) and D. acuminata (= Leptochloa fusca var. acuminata, L. acuminata) under D. fusca ssp. fascicularis (as Leptochloa fusca ssp. fascicularis). In New York, Mitchell and Tucker (1997) recognized these three taxa at the specific rank (as Diplachne acuminata, D. fascicularis, and D. maritima). We follow Snow’s work and lump the three taxa into D. fusca ssp. fascicularis.

Native Endangered-State FACW (NWPL EMP) OBL (NWPL NCNE) S4 (State Rank)

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