Plants usually densely cespitose, with caudices. Basal rosettes well-differentiated; blades 1-5 cm, ovate to lanceolate. Culms 5-45 cm tall, 0.2-0.8 mm thick, erect, often purplish; nodes glabrous or sparsely pubescent; internodes often ascending-pubescent below; fall phase branching extensively from the basal nodes, usually forming very dense cushions. Cauline leaves 3-5; sheaths mostly shorter than the internodes, often purplish, glabrous or sparsely pubescent, margins often sparsely ciliate; ligules 0.2-0.5 mm, of hairs, without adjacent pseudoligules; blades 2-5 cm long (rarely longer), 1-4 mm wide, flat or involute, rather firm, ascending, often purplish, usually glabrous on both surfaces, bases subcordate, often with a few long, stiff cilia, margins narrowly white, cartilaginous, and scabridulous, blades of the flag leaves only slightly shorter than those of the lowerleaves. Primary panicles 1.5-5 cm (seldom longer), nearly as wide as long, delicate, dense; branches numerous, flexuous, spreading, often purplish, glabrous or faintly scabridulous. Spikelets 1.1-1.5 mm long, 0.7-1 mm wide, broadly ellipsoid or obovoid, often purple-tinged, glabrous or puberulent, obtuse or subacute. Lower glumes approximately 1/3 as long as the spikelets, broadly acute or obtuse; upper glumes and lower lemmas subequal or the glumes slightly shorter than the lemmas; lower florets sterile; upper florets 0.9-1.2 mm, ellipsoid, apices exceeding the upper glumes and lower lemmas, subacute.

Dichanthelium chamaelonche grows in low, open, sandy, coastal pine woods, savannahs, and moist depressions in sand dunes. It is restricted to the southeastern United States.

Cauline sheaths sparsely spreading-pilose; ligules usually 1-1.8 mm; blades sparsely pilose or glabrous on both surfaces.

Culms tufted, very slender, erect or reclining, 1.5-4 dm; sheaths glabrous or minutely ciliate; ligule a band of hairs to 0.5 mm; cauline lvs few and distant, spreading or reflexed, 1-5 cm נ2-5 mm, with thin green margins, much constricted at base, glabrous above or puberulent at base, glabrous to puberulent beneath; primary panicle soon long-exsert, 2-6 cm, ovoid with short, spreading branches and few spikelets; spikelets glabrous or minutely hairy, ellipsoid or obovoid, somewhat pointed, 0.9-1.5 mm; first glume a third to two-fifths as long, ovate, obtusely pointed; second glume and sterile lemma shorter than the fr; autumnal phase copiously and often fastigiately branched from the lower nodes, sometimes forming dense mats, the blades 1-2 cm, the panicles 1 cm, equaling or barely exceeding the lvs; 2n=18. Bogs and wet woods, or rarely in dry pine-land; coastal plain from s. N.J. to La. (P. chamaelonche; Dichanthelium dichotomum var. e.)

Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

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