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early paspalum

rib paspalum

Habit Plants perennial; shortly rhizomatous. Plants perennial; cespitose, sometimes with short rhizomes.
Culms

5-160 cm, erect, not rooting at the lower nodes;

nodes glabrous.

90-200 cm, erect;

nodes sunken, glabrous or pubescent, brown.

Sheaths

densely pubescent, occasionally glabrous;

ligules 1-2.2 mm;

blades to 55 cm long, 2.2-8.3 mm wide, conduplicate (occasionally flat), glabrous below, pubescent above.

pubescent;

ligules 4-5 mm, membranous, brown, acute;

blades 12-40 cm long, 8-35 mm wide, flat or conduplicate, pubescent below, glabrous above, distinctly pubescent basally.

Panicles

terminal, with 2-10 racemosely arranged branches;

branches 0.8-10.3 cm, divergent to spreading, often arcuate, terminating in a spikelet;

branch axes 0.8-2 mm wide, narrowly winged, glabrous, margins scabrous.

terminal, with 8-25 racemosely arranged branches;

branches 1-8 cm, divergent to erect;

branch axes 1-1.2 mm wide, margins scabrous, terminating in a spikelet;

pedicels 0.2-0.4 and 0.5-1.2 mm long, flattened, scabrous.

Spikelets

2.1-3.1 mm long, 2-2.8 mm wide, paired, imbricate, appressed to divergent from the branch axes, orbicular to suborbicular, stramineous.

1.8-2 mm, paired, appressed to or divergent from the branch axes, oblong-elliptic, white to stramineous.

Glumes

absent;

lower lemmas glabrous, ribbed over the veins, sulcate between, 5-veined, margins entire;

upper lemmas as long as the lower ones, longitudinally papillose-striate, glabrous, pale-colored.

Caryopses

1.9-2.1 mm, brown.

Lower

glumes absent;

upper glumes and lower lemmas glabrous, 3-veined, margins entire;

upper florets white to light yellow.

Upper

florets white to stramineous.

2n

= 20, 40.

= 40, 60.

Paspalum praecox

Paspalum malacophyllum

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; IL; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; GA; TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Paspalum praecox grows in pitcher plant bogs, wet pine flatwoods, wet savannahs, prairies, and wet streamhead ecotones. It is restricted to the United States, growing predominantly on the southeastern coastal plain.

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

Paspalum malacophyllum is native from Mexico to Bolivia and Argentina. It was introduced to the southern United States for forage and soil conservation, and is now established in the southeastern United States, growing in disturbed sites at scattered locations.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 597. FNA vol. 25, p. 584.
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. plicatulum, 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. 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. praecox var. curtisianum, P. lentiferum
Name authority Walter Trin.
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