Paspalum vaginatum |
Paspalum virletii |
|
---|---|---|
saltwater couch, seashore paspalum |
Virlet's paspalum |
|
Habit | Plants perennial; rhizomatous and/or stoloniferous. | Plants perennial; cespitose. |
Culms | 10-79 cm, erect; nodes glabrous. |
40-75 cm, erect, not swollen at the base; nodes pubescent. |
Sheaths | 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. |
pubescent; blades to 15 cm long, 5-10 mm wide, flat, pubescent. |
Panicles | 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. |
terminal, with 3-8 racemosely arranged branches; branches 2-7 cm, spreading, terminating in a spikelet; branch axes narrow, sparsely pubescent. |
Spikelets | 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. |
2-2.5 mm long, 1.4-1.6 mm wide, paired, imbricate, appressed to the branch axes, ovate. |
Lower glumes | absent (rarely present); upper glumes and lower lemmas glabrous, 3-veined; upper florets white. |
absent; upper glumes shortly pubescent, 3-veined, margins entire; lower lemmas glabrous, lacking ribs over the veins, 3-veined, margins entire; upper florets pale to stramineous or golden brown. |
Caryopses | 2.8-3.1 mm, yellow. |
|
2n | = 20, 40, 60. |
= unknown. |
Paspalum vaginatum |
Paspalum virletii |
|
Distribution |
AL; CA; FL; GA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; HI; PR; Virgin Islands
|
AZ |
Discussion | 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.) |
Paspalum virletii grows in dry, sandy soils in disturbed habits. It is known only from Arizona, where it is considered a rare species, and from Mexico, where it also appears to be either rare or poorly collected (COTECOCA 2000). (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 | ||
Name authority | Sw. | E. Fourn. |
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