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water paspalum

saltwater couch, seashore paspalum

Habit Plants annual; aquatic, floating or rhizomatous. Plants perennial; rhizomatous and/or stoloniferous.
Culms

4-55 cm, erect;

nodes pubescent.

10-79 cm, erect;

nodes glabrous.

Sheaths

glabrous or pubescent;

ligules 1-4 mm;

blades 10-40 cm long, 8-22 mm wide, flat, glabrous or sparsely pubescent.

glabrous, sparsely long pubescent distally;

ligules 1-2 mm;

blades 10-19 cm long, 1.4-8 mm wide, flat or conduplicate, glabrous or pubescent, apices involute.

Panicles

terminal, with (7)20-70 racemosely arranged branches;

branches 1.2-9.5 cm, diverging to spreading, occasionally arcuate, disarticulating at maturity;

branch axes 0.7-1.5 mm wide, broadly winged, glabrous, margins scabrous, extending beyond the distal spikelet.

terminal, usually composed of a digitate pair of branches, a third branch sometimes present below;

branches 1.1-7.9 cm, diverging to erect;

branch axes 0.4-1.4 mm wide, winged, glabrous, margins scabrous, terminating in a spikelet.

Spikelets

1.1-1.9 mm long, 0.5-0.8 mm wide, solitary, appressed to the branch axes, elliptic, pubescent, white.

3-4.5 mm long, 1.1-2 mm wide, solitary, appressed to the branch axes, elliptic-lanceolate, glabrous, light stramineous, apices acute to acuminate.

Lower glumes

absent;

upper glumes and lower lemmas veinless;

upper florets white.

absent (rarely present);

upper glumes and lower lemmas glabrous, 3-veined;

upper florets white.

Caryopses

0.8-0.9 mm, translucent, white.

2.8-3.1 mm, yellow.

2n

= 20.

= 20, 40, 60.

Paspalum repens

Paspalum vaginatum

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

Paspalum repens is a native species that grows along the edges of lakes, streams, and roadside ditches in the southeastern United States. Its range extends through tropical America to Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.

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

Paspalum vaginatum grows in brackish and salt marshes. It is native to warm, coastal regions around the world, including the Americas. It has been grown for turf and in lawn trials, but is not yet widely used for these purposes.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 571. 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. plicatulum, P. praecox, P. pubiflorum, P. quadrifarium, P. racemosum, 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. virgatum, P. virletii, P. wrightii
Synonyms P. repens var. fluitans, P. fluitans
Name authority P.J. Bergius Sw.
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