Manisuris cylindrica (Michx.) Kuntze, Carolina jointtail 
DESCRIPTION 
Warm-season, rhizomatous perennial. 
Height: 1 to 3-1/2 feet. 
Leaf blade: Slender; pointed; 8 to 14 inches long; flat at first; 
rolled inward at maturity ; basal blades shorter than those 
higher on stem. 
Leaf sheath: Rounded; about as long as internodes. 
Stem: Erect with swollen, purplish nodes. 
Seedhead: Raceme cylindric, slightly curved; seedhead 2 to 
6 inches long; spikelets sessile, awnless, in pairs at nod 
of a thickened rachis. 
GROWTH CHARACTERISTICS 
Growth starts in early spring. Produces seedheads in May and 
June. Seed disseminate in early summer. Becomes dormant in 
fall. Reproduces from short, bulb-shaped rhizomes. Does not grow 
in pure stands but is scattered throughout plant community. 
DISTRIBUTION 
North Carolina to Florida, west to Texas, and north to Okla- 
homa and Missouri. 
SITE ADAPTATION 
Grows best on well-drained soils. 
USE AND MANAGEMENT 
Carolina jointtail is grazed readily by all livestock. 
This grass is never abundant enough to be a key management 
species. Proper use and management of associated grasses main- 
tain it in the plant community. 
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