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brownseed paspalum

comb's crowngrass, comb's paspalum

Habit Plants perennial; shortly rhizomatous, often indistinctly so. Plants perennial; cespitose, shortly rhizomatous.
Culms

30-110 cm, stout, erect;

nodes glabrous.

10-50 cm, erect.

Sheaths

glabrous;

ligules 2-3 mm;

blades to 35 cm long, 2-5.4 mm wide, conduplicate (rarely flat).

glabrous or sparsely pubescent;

ligules 0.5-2 mm;

blades to 20 cm long, 1.5-3.8 mm wide, flat, pubescent.

Panicles

terminal, with 2-7 racemosely arranged branches;

branches 1.6-7.1 cm, usually divergent, rarely merely ascending;

branch axes 0.6-1.1 mm wide, glabrous, terminating in a spikelet.

terminal, usually composed of a digitate pair of branches, 1-5 additional branches sometimes present below;

branches 1.8-7.1 cm, diverging to erect;

branch axes 0.8-1.3 mm wide, winged, terminating in a spikelet.

Spikelets

2.5-3 mm long, 1.5-2.2 mm wide, paired, appressed to the branch axes, elliptic-ovate, light to dark brown.

3-3.6 mm long, 1.3-1.8 mm wide, solitary (rarely paired), appressed to the branch axes, elliptic, glabrous, apices acute to acuminate.

Lower glumes

absent;

upper glumes usually with short, appressed pubescence, rarely glabrous, 5-veined, margins entire;

lower lemmas with short, appressed pubescence or glabrous, 3-veined, margins entire;

upper florets dark glossy brown.

absent;

upper glumes and lower lemmas glabrous, 5-veined, margins flat;

upper florets stramineous to golden brown.

Caryopses

1.4-1.6 mm, brown.

2n

= 20, 40, 60.

= 12, 24, 36.

Paspalum plicatulum

Paspalum almum

Distribution
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; SC; TX; PR; Virgin Islands
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
LA; TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Paspalum plicatulum grows in prairies, along forest margins, and in disturbed areas. Its range extends from the southeastern United States through the Caribbean and Mexico to Bolivia, Paraguay, and Argentina.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Paspalum almum was probably introduced to North America as a forage species. Its native range is Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and eastern Argentina. It has not been reported from Mexico or Central America. In the Flora region, it is found along roadsides and in pastures of southeastern Texas and southern Louisiana.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 581. FNA vol. 25, p. 575.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Paspalum Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Paspalum
Sibling taxa
P. acuminatum, P. almum, P. bifidum, P. blodgettii, P. boscianum, P. caespitosum, P. conjugatum, P. conspersum, P. convexum, P. coryphaeum, P. dilatatum, P. dissectum, P. distichum, P. fimbriatum, P. floridanum, P. hartwegianum, P. intermedium, P. laeve, P. langei, P. laxum, P. lividum, P. malacophyllum, P. minus, P. modestum, P. monostachyum, P. nicorae, P. notatum, P. paniculatum, P. pleostachyum, P. praecox, P. pubiflorum, P. quadrifarium, P. racemosum, P. repens, P. scrobiculatum, P. setaceum, P. unispicatum, P. urvillei, P. vaginatum, P. virgatum, P. virletii, P. wrightii
P. acuminatum, P. bifidum, P. blodgettii, P. boscianum, P. caespitosum, P. conjugatum, P. conspersum, P. convexum, P. coryphaeum, P. dilatatum, P. dissectum, P. distichum, P. fimbriatum, P. floridanum, P. hartwegianum, P. intermedium, P. laeve, P. langei, P. laxum, P. lividum, P. malacophyllum, P. minus, P. modestum, P. monostachyum, P. nicorae, P. notatum, P. paniculatum, P. pleostachyum, P. plicatulum, P. praecox, P. pubiflorum, P. quadrifarium, P. racemosum, P. repens, P. scrobiculatum, P. setaceum, P. unispicatum, P. urvillei, P. vaginatum, P. virgatum, P. virletii, P. wrightii
Synonyms P. texanum
Name authority Michx. Chase
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