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para grass

plantain signalgrass

Habit Plants perennial; stoloniferous, straggling. Plants annual.
Culms

to 5 m long, long-decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes, vertical portion 90-200(300) cm;

nodes villous.

20-100 cm, decumbent, geniculate, branching and rooting at the lower nodes;

nodes glabrous.

Sheaths

mostly glabrous, except the margins ciliate, with papillose-based hairs;

ligules 0.5-1.5 mm;

blades 3-21 cm long, 6-20 mm wide, glabrous, bases subcordate to cordate, clasping the stems, margins sometimes ciliate basally.

Panicles

10-25 cm long, 5-10 cm wide, pyramidal, with 10-30 spikelike branches in more than 2 ranks;

primary branches 2.5-8 cm long, 0.4-0.9 mm wide, ascending to divergent, axils pubescent, axes flat, glabrous or with a few papillose-based hairs, secondary branches present or absent;

pedicels shorter than the spikelets, scabrous, sometimes with hairs.

6-25 cm long, 2-7 cm wide, with 3-8 spikelike primary branches in 2 ranks;

primary branches 2-11 cm, axes 1-1.5 mm wide, flat, margins scabrous;

secondary branches absent;

pedicels shorter than the spikelets, glabrous or scabrous.

Spikelets

2.6-3.5 mm long, 1-1.4 mm wide, mostly in pairs, in 2-4 rows, appressed to the branches, purplish to green.

(4)4.5-6 mm long, 1.9-2.2 mm wide, solitary, appressed to the branch axes, in 2 rows.

Glumes

scarcely separate, rachilla internodes short not pronounced;

lower glumes 0.6-1.1 mm, 1/5 – 1/3 as long as the spikelets, glabrous, 0-1(3)-veined;

upper glumes 2.6-3.5 mm, glabrous, 5-(7)-veined, without cross venation;

lower florets staminate;

lower lemmas 2.6-3.3 mm, glabrous, 5-veined, without cross venation;

upper lemmas 2.3-2.8 mm long, 1-1.3 mm wide, apices rounded, mucronate;

anthers 1-1.5 mm.

separated by an internode of about 0.5 mm;

lower glumes 1.5-2.5 mm, to 1/3 as long as the spikelets, broadly ovate, glabrous, 9-11-veined;

upper glumes 3-4.2 mm, glabrous, 7(-9)-veined, without evident cross venation;

lower florets sterile;

lower lemmas 3-4.2 mm, glabrous, 5-veined;

lower paleas present;

upper lemmas 2.7-3.6 mm long, 1.5-2 mm wide, apices rounded;

anthers 0.7-1 mm.

Caryopses

1.8-2 mm.

2-2.5 mm.

Lower

sheaths with papillose-based hairs, these more dense distally, margins ciliate;

collars pubescent;

ligules 1-1.5 mm;

blades 7.5-35 cm long, 4-20 mm wide, glabrous or sparsely pilose on both surfaces, margins scabrous.

2n

= 18, 36.

= 36, 72.

Urochloa mutica

Urochloa plantaginea

Distribution
from FNA
AL; FL; MD; OR; SC; TX; HI; PR; Virgin Islands
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; LA; MD; MS; NJ; PA; SC; TX; HI; PR
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

An African species, Urochloa mutica is grown as a forage crop throughout the tropics, but it tends to become weedy. It grows on moist, disturbed soils and is established in the southeastern United States.

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

Urochloa plantaginea, native to western and central Africa, is found from the southeastern United States to Argentina. It is now established in the southeastern United States, growing in loose sand and loam soils. Although considered a weed in the Flora area, Sendulsky (1978) stated that it provided good forage.

Hall (1978) reported Urochloa oligobrachiata (Pilg.) Kartesz [as Brachiaria platytaenia Stapf] from Florida. This report was based on one collection, but the voucher specimen has not been verified. It is similar to U. plantaginea, but it differs in having acute to acuminate lower glumes and shortly awned upper lemmas. It is native to western Africa.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 494. FNA vol. 25, p. 501.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Urochloa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Urochloa
Sibling taxa
U. adspersa, U. arizonica, U. arrecta, U. brizantha, U. ciliatissima, U. fusca, U. mosambicensis, U. panicoides, U. piligera, U. plantaginea, U. platyphylla, U. ramosa, U. reptans, U. subquadripara, U. texana, U. villosa
U. adspersa, U. arizonica, U. arrecta, U. brizantha, U. ciliatissima, U. fusca, U. mosambicensis, U. mutica, U. panicoides, U. piligera, U. platyphylla, U. ramosa, U. reptans, U. subquadripara, U. texana, U. villosa
Synonyms Panicum purpurascens, Brachiaria mutica Brachiaria plantaginea
Name authority (Forssk.) T.Q. Nguyen (Link) R.D. Webster
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