Sterile palea of Panicum dichotomiflorum Michaux

[Niles E. VanDenburg]

I have a small problem with a grass that I'm trying to identify so if 
someone could help out an amateur field botanist I would be very
grateful.  

In particular I have a plant that I am 95% sure is Panicum
dichotomiflorum  Michaux but the reference that I use (Radford, Ahles
& Bell _Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas_ ,1968) lists
P. dichotomiflorum as "sterile palea absent" but when I examine the
floret I see a very well developed sterile palea subequal in size to
the sterile lemma.  Is this just a mistake in Radford, a mistake on my
part, or have I run into a known var./f. of P. dichotomiflorum and we
are both right?

Niles
-- 
Niles VanDenburg
nev at turing.org
niles_v at cho000.cho.ge.com
niles_v at cho000.dnet.ge.com