Panicum repens
Panicum antidotale
couch panicum, creeping panic, panic rampant, torpedo grass, wainaku grass
blue panic, blue panic grass, blue panicum
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.
50-300 cm tall, 2-4 mm thick, often compressed, erect or ascending, hard, becoming almost woody;
nodes swollen, glabrous or pubescent;
internodes glabrous, 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.
not keeled, shorter than or equal to the internodes, glabrous or the lower sheaths at least partially pubescent, hairs papillose-based;
ligules 0.3-1.5 mm;
blades 10-60 cm long, 3-20 mm wide, elongate, flat, abaxial surfaces and margins scabrous, adaxial surfaces occasionally pubescent near the base, with prominent, white midveins, bases rounded to narrowed.
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.
10-45 cm, to 1/2 as wide as long, open or somewhat contracted, with many spikelets;
branches 4-12 cm, opposite or alternate, ascending to spreading;
pedicels 0.3-2.5 mm, scabridulous to scabrous, appressed to diverging less than 45° from the branch axes.
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.
2.4-3.4 mm long, 1-1.3 mm wide, ellipsoid-lanceoloid to narrowly ovoid, often purplish, glabrous, acute.
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.
1.4-2.2 mm, 1/3 – 1/2 as long as the spikelets, 3-5-veined, obtuse;
upper glumes and lower lemmas subequal, glabrous, 5-9-veined, margins scarious, acute;
lower florets staminate;
upper florets 1.8-2.8 mm long, 0.9-1.1 mm wide, smooth, lustrous, acute.
- 36, 40, 45, 54.
= 18, 36.
Panicum repens
Panicum antidotale
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.)
Panicum antidotale is native to India. It is grown in the Flora region as a forage grass, primarily in the southwestern United States. It is now established in the region, being found in open, disturbed areas and fields.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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WildflowerSearch
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USDA Plants Database
