Urochloa mutica |
Urochloa reptans |
|
---|---|---|
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 |
AL; FL; MD; OR; SC; TX; HI; PR; Virgin Islands |
AL; FL; LA; MD; TX; PR; Virgin Islands |
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 | ||
Synonyms | Panicum purpurascens, Brachiaria mutica | Panicum reptans, Brachiaria reptans |
Name authority | (Forssk.) T.Q. Nguyen | (L.) Stapf |
Web links |