Paspalum laeve |
Paspalum conspersum |
|
---|---|---|
field beadgrass, field paspalum |
scattered paspalum |
|
Habit | Plants perennial; shortly rhizomatous. | Plants perennial; cespitose. |
Culms | 40-120 cm, erect; nodes glabrous or pubescent. |
100-200 cm, stout, 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. |
glabrous or sparsely pubescent; ligules 1-2 mm, brown; blades to 50 cm long, 7-18 mm wide, flat, glabrous or pubescent, margins scabrous, ciliate. |
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 4-13 racemosely arranged branches; branches 6-11 cm, diverging, divaricate, or reflexed; branch axes 0.5-1(1.2) mm wide, winged, wings narrower than the central section, 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. |
2-2.7(3) mm long, 1.1-1.8 mm wide, paired, appressed to or diverging from the branch axes, elliptic to obovate, pubescent, brown. |
Lower glumes | absent; upper glumes 3-veined, lower lemmas 5-veined; upper florets pale to stramineous. |
absent; upper glumes densely short pubescent, hairs about 0.5 mm; lower lemmas glabrous or sparsely short pubescent, margins entire; upper florets 1.8-2.2 mm, pubescent, brown. |
Caryopses | about 2 mm, white to yellow-brown. |
|
2n | = 20, 58, 70, 80. |
= 40, 60. |
Paspalum laeve |
Paspalum conspersum |
|
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
|
GA; TX |
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 conspersum is native from Mexico to Argentina, but it has been introduced to the southern United States. It is grown for its forage value, and has become established at scattered locations from Texas to Florida, growing along roadsides and in other disturbed areas. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 25, p. 572. | FNA vol. 25, p. 581. |
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. | Schrad. |
Web links |