Hall Panicum
Panicum hallii

Family: Poaceae

Tufted perennial grass with large seeds, reaching about 2’ tall. Inflorescences appears in March through October.

P. hallii is a perennial bunchgrass without stolons or rhizomes. It has flat blades that, when mature and brown, roll up like wood shavings or ribbons. The open inflorescences have only a few sparsely-flowered branches, which ascend at a 45 degree angle or are appressed to the main axis. The single-seeded, hard, oblong, pointed spikelets are smooth and shiny, and fall off quickly after maturing, leaving naked panicle branches.

Part sun with regular water.

Photo by Cecelia Alexander, SEINET
Panicum hallii on iNaturalist

Large-seeded and loved by granivorous birds. An edible crop for humans.

Panicum is a classical Latin name for millet, while hallii is named for Harvey Monroe Hall (1874-1932) an American botanist particularly noted for his taxonomic work in the western United States. There are 272 species of Panicum native throughout the tropical regions of the world, with a few species extending into the northern temperate zone.

Found on sandy plains and rocky slopes, from 2,500-7,500 ft. in Arizona, southern Utah, southern Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, southern Oklahoma, western Louisiana; south into southern Mexico.