Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Section: Common Name: Scientific Name: Family:
Account for Mattamuskeet Witchgrass - Dichanthelium mattamuskeetense   (Ashe) LeBlond
Members of Poaceae:
Members of Dichanthelium with account distribution info or public map:
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Section 5 » Family Poaceae
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Author(Ashe) LeBlond
DistributionCoastal Plain and Sandhills, including the Outer Banks at Roanoke Island.

Coastal Plain, southeastern MA to southeastern SC.
AbundanceFrequent in the outer Coastal Plain, but uncommon to infrequent in the Sandhills and inner Coastal Plain. The website editors suggest a State Rank of S4.
HabitatPocosin openings, low pocosins, ecotones of blackwater streamheads, wet pine savannas and flatwoods -- often growing in peat soils or sphagnum moss. Responds well to fire.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting May-October.
IdentificationThis species is typically tall (reaching 1.5-2.5 feet), has a decidedly red-purplish foliage and stem, is relatively few-leaved, and the stem nodes are bearded -- a unique combination. Most plants of D. microcarpon share these characters (purple color less extensive), but the spikelets are shorter (1.5-1.8 mm long vs. 1.8-2.5 mm long in D. mattamuskeetense).
Taxonomic CommentsIn some texts lumped under D. dichotomum as a variety or subspecies. However, there has been no genetic work done to prove the relationship. The type station is Lake Mattamuskeet in Hyde County.

A note about Dichanthelium: This genus is not impossible to identify to species! But it takes applied effort over a period of time in order to learn the various species and what their morphological limits are. We strongly recommend that you read the introduction to the treatment in Weakley et al. (2023), written by Richard LeBlond. LeBlond has made order out of near chaos, and his keys work very well for our plants. Most Dichanthelium taxa ("Dichs") do not grow everywhere indiscrimminately, but prefer certain well-defined habitats. Note that most species produce flowers/fruits twice a year -- a vernal period and an autumnal period -- and that measurements of spikelets and achenes are taken from vernal plants. Some species also have a third, or summer, period. In the vernal period there is a single inflorescence at the tip of the stem. In the autumnal period, plants produce elongate branches with bunched (congested) leaves and so look quite different from vernal plants. Inflorescences are produced in leaf axils as well as at the tips of branches. NOTE: Older texts had these species essentially all within the very large genus Panicum. "Dich" species are typically named as "Witchgrass" and Panicum species named as "Panicgrass".
Other Common Name(s)Mattamuskeet Rosette-grass
State Rank[S4]
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B.A. SorrieFort Bragg, boggy streamhead ecotone, Little Rockfish Creek, 1993. CumberlandPhoto_natural
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