Panicum repens
Panicum sect. Repentia
couch panicum, creeping panic, panic rampant, torpedo grass, wainaku grass
20-90 cm tall, 1.8-2.8 mm thick, erect, rigid, simple or branching from the lower and middle nodes;
nodes glabrous or sparsely hispid;
internodes glabrous.
20-300 cm, erect, firm, terete, often glaucous.
generally shorter than the internodes, not keeled, lower nodes glabrous or hispid, hairs papillose-based, particularly near the summits;
ligules 0.5-1 mm;
blades 3-25 cm long, 2-8 mm wide, often distichous, flat to slightly involute, firm, adaxial surfaces pilose basally, glabrous or sparsely pubescent abaxially.
glabrous or pilose;
ligules 0.5-6 mm, membranous, ciliate;
blades linear (sometimes involute), firm.
3-24 cm long, usually less than 5 cm wide, open;
primary branches 2-11 cm, alternate, few, stiffly ascending to spreading;
pedicels 1-6 mm, subappressed.
open or contracted.
2.2-2.8 mm long, 0.8-1.3 mm wide, ellipsoid-ovoid, pale green, acute, upper glumes and lower lemmas sometimes separating (gaping) beyond the florets.
lanceoloid, glabrous, acute to acuminate.
0.5-1 mm, 1/5 – 2/5 as long as the spikelets, glabrous, faintly 1-5-veined, subtruncate to broadly acute;
upper glumes and lower lemmas glabrous, extending 0.1-0.5 mm beyond the upper florets, scarcely separated;
upper glumes 7-11-veined, shorter than the lower lemmas, acute to short-acuminate;
lower florets staminate;
lower lemmas 7-11-veined;
lower paleas 1.9-2.1 mm, oblong;
upper florets 1.8-2.7 mm long, 0.7-1.3 mm wide, broadly ellipsoid, broadest at or above the middle, glabrous, shiny, smooth, apices rounded.
about 1/4 - 2/3 as long as the spikelets, 1-7-veined, usually acute or truncate, sometimes acuminate;
upper glumes and lower lemmas unequal, stiffly pointed, upper glumes often exceeding the lower lemmas, the two often separating (gaping) beyond the florets;
lower florets staminate;
lower paleas well-developed;
upper florets smooth, shiny, often pointed.
- 36, 40, 45, 54.
Panicum repens
Panicum sect. Repentia
Panicum repens grows on open, moist, sandy beaches and the shores of lakes and ponds, occasionally extending out into or onto the water. It is mostly, but not exclusively, coastal. It grows on tropical and subtropical coasts throughout the world and may have been introduced to the Americas from elsewhere. Small plants having small, dense panicles of purplish spikelets with longer, subacute lower glumes have been named Panicum gouinii E. Fourn., but they intergrade with more typical plants and do not seem to merit taxonomic recognition.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
There are approximately 12 species of Panicum sect. Repentia in the Western Hemisphere, four of which grow in the Flora region. The species generally inhabit wet sites, growing on coastal dunes, sea beaches or along the margins of rivers.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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