Jointed goatgrass

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Jointed goatgrass inflorescence

Jointed goatgrass

Jointed goatgrass

Jointed goatgrass spikelets

Jointed goatgrass spikelets

Jointed goatgrass

Jointed goatgrass

Jointed goatgrass

Morphology

Culm

Erect or bent abruptly at base, hollow, branching at base, glabrous or pubescent.

Blades

Flat, 1 to 5 inches long, less than 1/6 inch wide, rough, glabrous or pubescent.

Sheath

Open, shorter than internodes, glabrous or fringed on margins to sparsely soft-hairy; auricles inconspicuous.

Ligule

Membranous, very short.

Inflorescence

Spike, 3 to 6 inches long, up to 1/5 inch thick, cylinder-like (round in cross-section); spikelets 5 to 10.

Spikelets

Oblong-cylindric, borne singly, pressed flat against rachis, 2- to 5-flowered; glumes hard, asymmetrical, prominently many-nerved, 1/4 to 1/2 inch long, first glume shorter than second; glumes and lemmas awned, awns on uppermost spikelets 1 to 3 inches long, awns shorter on lower spikelets.

Ecology

Habitat

Waste areas, disturbed sites, roadsides, and fields.

Distribution

Throughout Kansas.

Additional Notes