Rugoloa pilosa

Rugoloa pilosa is a perennial grass in the family Poaceae, recently segregated from the genus Panicum (formerly Panicum pilosum). The plant forms loose tufts with slender, often decumbent or geniculate culms that root at the lower nodes, reaching 30-100 cm in length. Leaf sheaths are typically hairy, particularly along the margins and at the collar, giving rise to the specific epithet; leaf blades are flat, lanceolate, 5-15 cm long and 5-15 mm wide, with sparse to dense hairs on both surfaces. The inflorescence is an open, pyramidal panicle 10-25 cm long with spreading branches bearing solitary spikelets along one side. Spikelets are small, 1.5-2 mm long, elliptic to ovate, glabrous to slightly hairy, with reduced first glumes and well-developed second glumes and lower lemmas. The species is widespread in the Neotropics, occurring in moist forest understory, riverbanks, and shaded disturbed ground from Mexico through Central America to Argentina.