Ctenium aromaticum (Walt.) Wood, toothachegrass 
DESCRIPTION 
Warm-season, perennial bunch grass. 
Height: 2 to 3 feet. 
Leaf blade: 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide; 6 to 10 inches long; pale 
green on bottom, darker green on top. 
Leaf sheath: Mostly basal ; shorter than internodes. 
Ligule : Small membrane and short hair. 
Stem: Erect; base enlarged and contains a substance that 
deadens the tongue and gums when chewed. 
Seedhead: Curved spike; spikelets sessile on one side of 
rachis, giving a comblike appearance. 
GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS 
Growth starts in early spring and again in October or Novem- 
ber. Seed ripen in late May or early June. Occasionally grows in 
pure stands. Each plant produces many seedstalks. This grass 
produces an abundant seed crop the first growing season after a 
burn. 
DISTRIBUTION 
Coastal Plain from North Carolina, west to Louisiana, Arkan- 
sas, and east Texas and throughout Florida. 
SITE ADAPTATION 
Adapted to wet, poorly drained, acid soils. Typical sites are flat- 
woods with clayey subsoil and sloughs which have standing or 
slow-moving water following heavy rains. 
USE AND MANAGEMENT 
Toothachegrass is grazed most readily by livestock during 
spring and summer. An abundance of this grass indicates good 
range condition on wet sites. 
This grass responds to same management as major associated 
grasses. 
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