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Indian paspalum, kodo-millet, ricegrass, ricegrass paspalum

saltwater couch, seashore paspalum

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

10-150 cm, erect or decumbent;

nodes glabrous.

10-79 cm, erect;

nodes glabrous.

Sheaths

glabrous;

ligules 0.3-1.2 mm, often with a row of hairs behind them;

blades 5-30 cm long, 2-8(12) mm wide, flat, usually glabrous.

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 1-5 digitately or racemosely arranged branches;

branches 3-10 cm, diverging to spreading, persistent;

branch axes 1.5-3 mm wide, broadly winged, glabrous, margins scabrous, terminating in a 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

1.8-3.2 mm long, 2-2.3 mm wide, solitary, diverging from the branch axes, ovate, glabrous, olive green to dark, glossy brown.

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 as long as the lower lemmas, 5-7-veined;

lower lemmas 3-5-veined;

upper florets 2.5-3 mm long, 1.4-1.8 mm wide, dark glossy brown.

absent (rarely present);

upper glumes and lower lemmas glabrous, 3-veined;

upper florets white.

Caryopses

1.1-1.5 mm, nearly orbicular.

2.8-3.1 mm, yellow.

2n

= 20, 40, 60, 120.

= 20, 40, 60.

Paspalum scrobiculatum

Paspalum vaginatum

Distribution
from FNA
AL; GA; MD; NJ; TX; HI
[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 scrobiculatium is native to India. It has been found growing in widely scattered disturbed areas of the southeastern United States, possibly as an escape from cultivation. It is grown as a cereal (Kodo) in India.

(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. 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. repens, 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. orbiculare
Name authority L. Sw.
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