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brownseed paspalum

talquezal

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

30-110 cm, stout, erect;

nodes glabrous.

100-200 cm, stout, erect;

nodes glabrous.

Sheaths

glabrous;

ligules 2-3 mm;

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

pubescent;

ligules 1.9-2.2 mm, brown;

blades 30-90 cm long, 1-3 cm wide, flat, glabrous, pubescent behind the ligules.

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, with 10-20 racemosely arranged branches;

branches 3-15 cm, spreading to diverging;

branch axes 1-1.7 mm wide, winged, wings narrower than the central section, 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.

2.2-3.2 mm long, 1.8-2.4 mm wide, paired, appressed to or diverging from the branch axes, obovate, brown.

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 or variously short pubescent, 5-veined, margins entire;

upper florets 2.5-2.7 mm, brown.

Caryopses

1.4-1.6 mm, brown.

2n

= 20, 40, 60.

= 36, 40, 54, 80.

Paspalum plicatulum

Paspalum virgatum

Distribution
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; LA; MS; SC; TX; PR; Virgin Islands
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; GA; TX; PR; Virgin Islands
[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 virgatum is native from Mexico to South America. It has been introduced to the southeastern United States, where it grows primarily in disturbed areas and cultivated fields.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 581. FNA vol. 25.
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. 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. plicatulum, P. praecox, P. pubiflorum, P. quadrifarium, P. racemosum, P. repens, P. scrobiculatum, P. setaceum, P. unispicatum, P. urvillei, P. vaginatum, P. virletii, P. wrightii
Synonyms P. texanum
Name authority Michx. L.
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