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Vasey grass, Vasey's grass

rib paspalum

Habit Plants perennial; cespitose, with a knotty base composed of very short (less than 1 cm) rhizomes. Plants perennial; cespitose, sometimes with short rhizomes.
Culms

50-220 cm, erect;

nodes glabrous or pubescent.

90-200 cm, erect;

nodes sunken, glabrous or pubescent, brown.

Sheaths

glabrous or pubescent;

ligules 1-4(7.7) mm;

blades 12-60 cm long, 2-12 mm wide, flat, mostly glabrous, a few long hairs near the base of the adaxial surface.

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 (4)10-30 racemosely arranged branches;

branches 1.2-11.5 cm, divergent;

branch axes 0.5-1.1 mm wide, winged, glabrous, margins scabrous, terminating in a spikelet.

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

1.8-2.8 mm long, 1.1-1.5 mm wide, paired, appressed to the branch axes, elliptic to slightly obovate, stramineous (rarely purple).

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

1.2-1.7 mm, white.

Lower

glumes absent;

upper glumes and lower lemmas 3-veined, margins pilose;

upper florets stramineous.

Upper

florets white to stramineous.

2n

= 40.

= 40, 60.

Paspalum urvillei

Paspalum malacophyllum

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; CA; FL; GA; KS; KY; LA; MO; MS; NC; OK; SC; TN; TX; VA; HI; PR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL; GA; TX
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Paspalum urvillei has been introduced to the United States from South America. In the Flora region it grows in disturbed, moist to wet areas, primarily in the southeastern United States.

(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. 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. praecox, P. pubiflorum, P. quadrifarium, P. racemosum, P. repens, P. scrobiculatum, P. setaceum, P. unispicatum, 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
Name authority Steud. Trin.
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