About Sphenopholis intermedia (Rydb.) Rydb.
Sphenopholis intermedia (Rydb.) Rydb. is a slender grass that reaches heights between 20 cm and 120 cm (8 to 47 inches). Its leaf sheaths may be either pubescent or glabrous. Ligules of this species measure 1.5 to 2.5 mm (0.06 to 0.10 inches), and often have an erose-ciliate, lacerate appearance. Upper leaf blades are between half as long as and equal in length to their sheaths, and have a scabrous texture along their nerves. Most leaf blades are 2 to 6 mm (0.08 to 0.24 inches) wide, and are either flat or slightly rolled. The lax panicles are 3 to 20 cm (1.2 to 7.9 inches) long, and typically nod. Spikelets grow 3 to 4.2 mm (0.12 to 0.17 inches) long. Glumes have a scabrous texture on their keels; the first glume is linear-attenuate, while the second is oblanceolate. Lemmas are lanceolate and glabrous, with the exception of the most distal lemmas, which develop a scabrous texture at their ends. Anthers measure 0.5 mm (0.02 inches) long. Paleas are thin and narrow, and are slightly shorter than the lemmas. S. intermedia flowers from June through August. It grows in meadows, prairies, shores, and damp slopes at elevations ranging from sea level to 2,500 m (8,200 ft). It favors wet soils, damp soils that dry out after the growing season, and clay soils with high water retention. Its range extends from Newfoundland to southern Alaska, and south to Florida, Louisiana, Colorado, and Arizona.
