Paspalum praecox
Paspalum modestum
early paspalum
water paspalum
5-160 cm, erect, not rooting at the lower nodes;
nodes glabrous.
30-110 cm, decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes;
nodes glabrous.
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.
glabrous;
ligules 1-2.3 mm;
blades to 50 cm long, 2-10 mm wide, flat, glabrous or pubescent.
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 2-6(10) racemosely arranged branches;
branches 3.5-12.5 cm, diverging to erect;
branch axes 1-2.1 mm wide, glabrous, terminating in a spikelet.
2.1-3.1 mm long, 2-2.8 mm wide, paired, imbricate, appressed to divergent from the branch axes, orbicular to suborbicular, stramineous.
2.5-3 mm long, 1.3-1.6 mm wide, paired, appressed to the branch axes, elliptic, light brown.
1.9-2.1 mm, brown.
1.6-1.8 mm, brown.
glumes absent;
upper glumes and lower lemmas glabrous, 3-veined, margins entire;
upper florets white to light yellow.
glumes often present, 0.5-2 mm, brown;
upper glumes glabrous, 5-veined, margins entire, lower lemmas glabrous, 5-7-veined, margins entire;
upper florets olive, golden brown, or dark brown.
= 20, 40.
= 20, 30, 40.
Paspalum praecox
Paspalum modestum
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 modestum grows in wet roadside ditches and rice fields of Texas and southern Louisiana. It was introduced to the United States from South America. Plants with pale florets may key to P. lividum, which differs from P. modestum in having shorter ligules.
Until recently, plants belonging to Paspalum modestum have been called P. hydrophilum Henrard in North America, but experimental studies have shown that the two species are quite distinct and that North American plants belong to P. modestum.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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