Sphenopholis obtusata(Michx.) Scribn.

prairie wedgescale

WFO wfo-0000900802 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC0 / CC BY

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Sphenopholis obtusata, photographed by Ryan Sorrells
fig. a Ryan Sorrells, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-06-11 / obs. 205626980
Sphenopholis obtusata, photographed by Thomas Koffel
fig. b Thomas Koffel, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 76262629
Sphenopholis obtusata, photographed by Jody Shugart
fig. c Jody Shugart, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 66608268
Sphenopholis obtusata, photographed by Nathan Aaron
fig. d Nathan Aaron, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 202807288
Sphenopholis obtusata, photographed by Cleveland Powell
fig. e Cleveland Powell, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 196410436
Sphenopholis obtusata, photographed by Sam Kieschnick
fig. f Sam Kieschnick, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 192453196
Sphenopholis obtusata, photographed by Michelle Lopez
fig. g Michelle Lopez, CC0 1.0 / obs. 189537412
Sphenopholis obtusata, photographed by jim isleib
fig. h jim isleib, CC0 1.0 / obs. 188741104

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 62 botanical countries

Regions where Sphenopholis obtusata is native: Alabama, Alberta, Arizona, Arkansas, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Manitoba, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mexico Central, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southwest, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Brunswick, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Ontario, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode I., Saskatchewan, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, Hawaii, Dominican Republic, Haiti AlabamaAlbertaArizonaArkansasBritish ColumbiaCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutFloridaGeorgiaIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineManitobaMarylandMassachusettsMexico CentralMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SouthwestMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew BrunswickNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOntarioOregonPennsylvaniaSaskatchewanSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyomingHawaiiDominican RepublicHaiti DelawareDistrict of ColumbiaRhode I.
Native distribution of Sphenopholis obtusata, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Alberta ABT
Arizona ARI
Arkansas ARK
British Columbia BRC
California CAL
Colorado COL
Connecticut CNT
Delaware DEL
District of Columbia WDC
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Idaho IDA
Illinois ILL
Indiana INI
Iowa IOW
Kansas KAN
Kentucky KTY
Louisiana LOU
Maine MAI
Manitoba MAN
Maryland MRY
Massachusetts MAS
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southwest MXS
Michigan MIC
Minnesota MIN
Mississippi MSI
Missouri MSO
Montana MNT
Nebraska NEB
Nevada NEV
New Brunswick NBR
New Hampshire NWH
New Jersey NWJ
New Mexico NWM
New York NWY
North Carolina NCA
North Dakota NDA
Ohio OHI
Oklahoma OKL
Ontario ONT
Oregon ORE
Pennsylvania PEN
Rhode I. RHO
Saskatchewan SAS
South Carolina SCA
South Dakota SDA
Tennessee TEN
Texas TEX
Utah UTA
Vermont VER
Virginia VRG
Washington WAS
West Virginia WVA
Wisconsin WIS
Wyoming WYO
Dominican Republic DOM SOUTHERN AMERICA
Haiti HAI
Hawaii HAW PACIFIC

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Also published as 38 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Agrostis obtusata Steud.
  • Aira mexicana Trin. ex E.Fourn.
  • Aira obtusa Raf.
  • Aira obtusata Michx.
  • Aira truncata Muhl.
  • Airopsis obtusata (Michx.) Desv.
  • Eatonia annua Suksd.
  • Eatonia densiflora E.Fourn.
  • Eatonia obtusata (Michx.) A.Gray
  • Eatonia obtusata var. laxiflora Gatt.
  • Eatonia obtusata var. purpurascens Rydb. & Shear
  • Eatonia obtusata var. robusta Vasey ex L.H.Dewey
  • Eatonia pubescens Scribn. & Merr.
  • Eatonia robusta Rydb.
  • Festuca obtusata (Michx.) P.Beauv.
  • Graphephorum densiflorum E.Fourn.
  • Koeleria lobata Steud.
  • Koeleria obtusata Trin. ex Steud.
  • Koeleria paniculata Nutt.
  • Koeleria truncata (Muhl.) Torr.
  • Poa obtusata (Michx.) Link
  • Reboulea gracilis Kunth
  • Reboulea obtusata (Michx.) A.Gray
  • Reboulea obtusata var. lobata (Trin.) Farw.

and 14 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.