Paspalum laeve |
Paspalum bifidum |
|
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field beadgrass, field paspalum |
pitchfork crowngrass, pitchfork paspalum |
|
Habit | Plants perennial; shortly rhizomatous. | Plants perennial; rhizomatous. |
Culms | 40-120 cm, erect; nodes glabrous or pubescent. |
60-140 cm, erect; nodes glabrous. |
Sheaths | glabrous or pubescent; ligules 1.5-3.8 mm; blades to 37 cm long, 2-9.3 mm wide, flat, glabrous or pubescent. |
pubescent; ligules 2-4 mm; blades to 37 cm long, 2.2-11 mm wide, flat. |
Panicles | terminal, with 1-6 racemosely arranged branches; branches 2-10.9 cm, diverging to spreading (rarely erect), persistent; branch axes 0.6-1.3 mm wide, glabrous, margins scabrous, terminating in a spikelet. |
terminal, with 2-5 racemosely arranged branches; branches 3.7-13 cm, divergent to erect; branch axes 0.2-0.8 mm wide, glabrous, margins scabrous, terminating in a spikelet. |
Spikelets | 2.3-3.3 mm long, 2-2.7 mm wide, solitary, appressed to the branch axes, elliptic to obovate or nearly orbicular, glabrous, stramineous. |
3.1-4 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide, paired, not imbricate, appressed to the branch axes, elliptic to obovate, yellow-brown. |
Lower glumes | absent; upper glumes 3-veined, lower lemmas 5-veined; upper florets pale to stramineous. |
present or absent; upper glumes glabrous or sparsely pubescent basally, (6)7-veined, margins entire; lower lemmas glabrous or sparsely pubescent basally, lacking ribs over the veins, 5-veined, margins entire; upper florets white. |
Caryopses | about 2 mm, white to yellow-brown. |
2.6-2.9 mm, purple. |
2n | = 20, 58, 70, 80. |
= unknown. |
Paspalum laeve |
Paspalum bifidum |
|
Distribution |
AL; AR; CT; DC; DE; FL; GA; IL; IN; KS; KY; LA; MA; MD; MI; MO; MS; NC; NJ; NY; OH; OK; PA; SC; TN; TX; VA; WV
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AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MO; MS; NC; OK; SC; TN; TX; VA
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Discussion | Paspalum laeve is restricted to the eastern United States. It grows at the edges of forests and in disturbed areas. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Paspalum bifidum is restricted to the southeastern United States. It grows at the edges of forests in longleaf pine-oak-grass ecosystems, usually in dry to mesic loamy sandy soils. It grows vigorously following fire. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 25, p. 572. | FNA vol. 25, p. 586. |
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Paspalum | Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Paspalum |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | P. longipilum, P. laeve var. pilosum, P. laeve var. circulare, P. laeve var. australe, P. circulare | |
Name authority | Michx. | (Bertol.) Nash |
Web links |