The green links below add additional plants to the comparison table. Blue links lead to other Web sites.
enable glossary links

para grass

sprawling signalgrass

Habit Plants perennial; stoloniferous, straggling. Plants annual; forming sprawling mats.
Culms

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

nodes villous.

10-35 cm, prostrate to decumbent;

nodes glabrous or sparsely puberulent.

Sheaths

glabrous or sparsely pubscent, margins densely ciliate;

ligules 0.5-1 mm;

blades 2-6 cm long, 4-15 mm wide, adaxial surfaces glabrous or sparsely pubescent with papillose-based hairs, margins 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.

1.5-6(8) cm long, 4-5 cm wide, ovoid, with 3-16 spikelike branches in more than 2 ranks;

primary branches 1-4 cm long, 0.2-0.5 mm wide, flat, scabrous;

secondary branches occasionally present;

pedicels shorter than the spikelets, scabrous, glabrous or with long hairs distally.

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.

1.8-2.2 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide, mostly in pairs, in 2-4 rows, appressed to the branches.

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.

scarcely separate, rachilla internodes short, not pronounced;

lower glumes 0.2-0.6 mm, 1/5 – 1/4 as long as the spikelets, 0-1-veined;

upper glumes 1.7-2.1 mm, glabrous, 7-veined, without cross venation;

lower florets sterile or staminate;

lower lemmas 1.7-2.1 mm, glabrous, 5-veined, without cross venation;

lower paleas present;

upper lemmas 1.5-1.8 mm long, 0.8-1 mm wide, apices rounded, mucronate, mucros to about 0.1 mm;

anthers 0.4-0.6 mm.

Caryopses

1.8-2 mm.

0.8-1.2 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.

= 14(18).

Urochloa mutica

Urochloa reptans

Distribution
from FNA
AL; FL; MD; OR; SC; TX; HI; PR; Virgin Islands
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; LA; MD; TX; PR; Virgin Islands
[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 reptans is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of the world, growing in disturbed habitats. In the Flora region, it is found primarily in Texas and Louisiana.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 494. FNA vol. 25, p. 494.
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. plantaginea, U. platyphylla, U. ramosa, U. subquadripara, U. texana, U. villosa
Synonyms Panicum purpurascens, Brachiaria mutica Panicum reptans, Brachiaria reptans
Name authority (Forssk.) T.Q. Nguyen (L.) Stapf
Web links