Plants perennial; cespitose, essentially glabrous throughout. Culms 30-130 cm. Sheaths open; ligules of hairs; micro hairsof blades with an inflated terminal cell similar in length to the basal cell. Inflorescences terminal, narrow, spikelike or somewhat open panicles; disarticulation above the glumes but not between the florets, these falling together. Spikelets with 3-5 florets, only the lower 1-3 bisexual. Glumes subequal, thin, membranous, 1-veined, acute; lemmas rounded on the back, hairy at least basally, obscurely (5)7(9)-veined, veins extending into scabridulous awns of unequal length, several additional narrow awnlike lobes usually also present, awns and lobes together forming a pappuslike crown; paleas textured like the lemmas, 2-veined, 2-keeled, keels scabrous or hairy; anthers 3; styles 2. Caryopses elliptical, plump, slightly dorsally flattened or nearly terete; embryos about 1/2 as long as the caryopses. x = 10. From the Greek pappos, pappus, and phoros, bearing, in reference to the pappuslike crown of the lemma.
Pappophorum is an American genus with about eight species. It grows in warm regions of North and South America. There are two species native to the Flora region.
SELECTED REFERENCESPensiero, J.F. 1986. Revisión de las especies argentinas del género Pappophorum (Gramineae-Eragrostoideae-Pappophoreae). Darwiniana 17:65-87; Reeder, J.R. and L.J. Toolin. 1989. Notes on Pappophorum (Gramineae: Pappophoreae). Syst. Bot. 14:349-358.