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Seashore Paspalum

Paspalum vaginatum Sw.

Comments

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This is one of the first plants to colonize the seashore. It is an efficient sand binder and a common saltmarsh plant, where it may form pure stands. It is sometimes also found in inland saline marshes.
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Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of China Vol. 22: 526, 528 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
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Flora of China @ eFloras.org
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Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven & Hong Deyuan
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Description

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Annuals; culm long creeping, stoloniferous, flowering culm 6-60 cm tall, nodes glabrous. Blade 2.5-15 cm long, 3-8 mm wide; sheath longer than internode, often keeled, margins membranaceous; ligule membranaceous, truncate, 0.5-1 mm long. Racemes usually 2, conjugate or closely approximate; rachis 1-2 mm wide, 3-angular, often zigzag. Spikelet solitary, imbricate, elliptic, 3.5-4 mm long; lower glume absent; upper glume and lower lemma equal, thin, weakly 5-veined; lower lemma often transversely undulate; upper lemma 2.5-3 mm long, slightly concave-convex, with a tuft of short hairs at apex; upper palea ca. 2/3 as long as upper lemma; anther ca. 1.5 mm long.
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Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Gramineae (Poaceae) in Flora of Taiwan Vol. 0 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
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Poaceae in Flora of Taiwan @ eFloras.org
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Chang-Sheng Kuoh
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eFloras.org
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Description

provided by eFloras
Perennial with short rhizome and long stolons. Culms solitary or tufted, many-noded, 10–50 cm tall. Leaf sheaths imbricate, often keeled, margins membranous; leaf blades distichous, linear, rather stiffly ascending, 2.5–15 × 0.3–0.8 cm, apex acute; ligule 0.5–1 mm. Inflorescence of (1–)2(–3) racemes arising together at culm apex; racemes 2–5 cm, usually closely approximate when young, later spreading; spikelets single, in 2 rows; rachis 1–2 mm wide. Spikelets pale brownish green, narrowly lanceolate-oblong, strongly flattened, 3.5–4 mm, acute; lower glume absent or rarely a tiny vestige; upper glume thinly papery, weakly 5-veined, midvein often suppressed, glabrous; lower lemma resembling upper glume; upper lemma pale green, 2.5–3 mm, shorter than spikelet, cartilaginous, apex minutely pubescent. Fl. and fr. Jun–Sep.
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cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
copyright
Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of China Vol. 22: 526, 528 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
source
Flora of China @ eFloras.org
editor
Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven & Hong Deyuan
project
eFloras.org
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eFloras

Distribution

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Tropics and subtropics of the Old World. Taiwan, halophilous.
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cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
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Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Gramineae (Poaceae) in Flora of Taiwan Vol. 0 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
source
Poaceae in Flora of Taiwan @ eFloras.org
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Chang-Sheng Kuoh
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eFloras.org
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eFloras

Habitat & Distribution

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Sandy seashores, swamps, along the margins of slow-moving streams. Hainan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Yunnan [tropics and subtropics throughout the world].
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cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
copyright
Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of China Vol. 22: 526, 528 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
source
Flora of China @ eFloras.org
editor
Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven & Hong Deyuan
project
eFloras.org
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eFloras

Synonym

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Digitaria vaginata (Swartz) Magnier ex Debeaux; Paspalum distichum subsp. vaginatum (Swartz) Maire; Paspalum distichum var. vaginatum (Swartz) Grisebach; Sanguinaria vaginata (Swartz) Bubani.
license
cc-by-nc-sa-3.0
copyright
Missouri Botanical Garden, 4344 Shaw Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63110 USA
bibliographic citation
Flora of China Vol. 22: 526, 528 in eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden. Accessed Nov 12, 2008.
source
Flora of China @ eFloras.org
editor
Wu Zhengyi, Peter H. Raven & Hong Deyuan
project
eFloras.org
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eFloras

Comprehensive Description

provided by North American Flora
Paspalum vaginatum Sw. Prodr. 21. 1788
Digiiaria foliosa Lag. Gen. Sp. PI. 4. 1816.
Paspalum tristachyum Le Conte, Jour, de Phys. 91 : 285. 1820.
Digitaria tristachya Schultes, in R. & S. Syst. Veg. Mant. 2 : 261. 1824.
Paspalum foHosum Kunth, R^v. Gram. 25. 1829.
Paspalum injiaium. A. Rich, in Sagra, Hist. Cuba 11 : 298. 1850.
Paspalum, distichum. vaginatumSw.; Griseb. Fl. Brit. W. Ind. 541. 1864.
Paspalum. reimarioides Chapm. Fl. S. U. S. ed. 2. 665. 1883.
A perennial with long stout branched rootstocks, flat or involute leaf-blades, and
glabrous spikelets. Stems 2-6 dm. tall; leaf -sheaths compressed, keeled, usually crowded
and overlapping, at least at the base and on the innovations, glabrous; blades 1.5
dm. long or less, 2-4 mm. wide, folded or involute when dry, glabrous, or sparingly hairy
above at the very base; racemes terminal, usually in pairs at the apex of the stem, rarely
more or single, erect or ascending, 3-7 cm. long, the rachis about 1 mm. wide; spikelets singly
disposed, ovate-lanceolate, acute, 3-4 mm. long, the first scale wanting, or rarely present, the
second and third scales thin, usually more or less wrinkled when dry, the second scale usually
4-nerved by the suppression of the midnerve, the lateral nerves approximate at the margin,
the third scale 5-nerved, the lateral nerves rather near together, the fruiting scale sometimes
with a few hairs at the apex.
Type locality : Jamaica.
Distribution : Florida to Mexico ; Bermuda ; West Indies ; also in tropical South America.
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bibliographic citation
George Valentine Nash. 1912. (POALES); POACEAE (pars). North American flora. vol 17(2). New York Botanical Garden, New York, NY
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Physical Description

provided by USDA PLANTS text
Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Rhizomes present, Stolons or runners present, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems erect or ascending, Stems mat or turf forming, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stem internodes solid or spongy, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly open, or loose, Leaf sheath smooth, glabrous, Leaf sheath hairy at summit, throat, or collar, Leaf sheath and blade differentiated, Leaf blades linear, Leaf blades 2-10 mm wide, Leaf blades mostly flat, Leaf blade margins folded, involute, or conduplicate, Leaf blades mostly glabrous, Leaf blades more or less hairy, Leaf blades scabr ous, roughened, or wrinkled, Ligule present, Ligule an unfringed eciliate membrane, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence solitary, with 1 spike, fascicle, glomerule, head, or cluster per stem or culm, Inflorescence with 2-10 branches, Inflorescence branches 1-sided, Inflorescence branches paired or digitate at a single node, Inflorescence branches paired racemes, V-shaped, Rachis dilated, flat, central axis to which spikelets are attached, Rachis angular, Flowers bisexual, Spikelets pedicellate, Spikelets sessile or subsessile, Spikelets dorsally compressed or terete, Spikelet less than 3 mm wide, Spikelets with 1 fertile floret, Spikelets with 2 florets, Spikelet with 1 fertile floret and 1-2 sterile florets, Spikelets solitary at rachis nodes, Spikelets all alike and fertille, Spikelets bisexual, Spikelets disarticulating below the glumes, Spikelets secund, in rows on one side of rachis, Rachilla or pedicel glabrous, Glumes completely absent or reduced to cuplike structur e, Glumes present, empty bracts, Glumes 2 clearly present, Glumes distinctly unequal, Glumes equal to or longer than adjacent lemma, Glume equal to or longer than spikelet, Glumes 3 nerved, Lemma similar in texture to glumes, Lemma 3 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma apex acute or acuminate, Lemma awnless, Lemma straight, Palea present, well developed, Palea shorter than lemma, Stamens 3, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis.
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Dr. David Bogler
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Missouri Botanical Garden
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USDA NRCS NPDC
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USDA PLANTS text

Paspalum vaginatum

provided by wikipedia EN

Paspalum vaginatum is a species of grass known by many names, including seashore paspalum, biscuit grass, saltwater couch, silt grass, and swamp couch.[1] It is native to the Americas, where it grows in tropical and subtropical regions.[2] It is found throughout the other tropical areas of the world, where it is an introduced species and sometimes an invasive weed.[1] It is also cultivated as a turfgrass in many places.[3]

Description

It is a perennial grass with rhizomes or stolons. The stems grow 10 to 79 centimetres (3.9 to 31.1 in) tall. The leaf blades are 10 to 19 centimetres (3.9 to 7.5 in) long and may be hairless to slightly hairy.[4] They are usually blue-green in color.[5] The panicle is usually a pair of branches up to 7.9 centimetres (3.1 in) long; there is sometimes a third branch below the pair. The branches are lined with oval to lance-shaped spikelets which grow pressed against the branches, making the panicle narrow.[4] This species is similar to bermudagrass.[5][6] It spreads by its rhizomes and stolons, forming a thick turf.[5][7] In the wild this species grows in salt marshes and brackish marshes.[4] The genome of Paspalum vaginatum was sequenced in 2022 and the species' haploid genome was determined to be approximately 590 megabases in size.[8]

Uses

This grass has been bred into cultivars which are used for golf course turf and other landscaping projects. It forms a higher quality turf than bermudagrass in poor conditions, such as wet soils and low light levels, and with fewer nitrogen soil amendments.[2][6] It can grow in lawns that receive rain on 250 days per year, and it can survive being waterlogged or submerged for several days at a time.[3] It tolerates foot traffic.[7] The main advantage of this grass is that it is very salt-tolerant. It can be irrigated with non-potable water, such as greywater, an important advantage in a time when there are increasing restrictions on water use.[6] The grass can even be irrigated with saltwater.[6][7] The grass will be lower in quality than that irrigated with potable water, but it survives.[6] This species has "filled a niche in America", being a better grass to use on turf next to the ocean in places that receive sea spray.[3] "It has the highest salt tolerance of all turfgrasses."[3] It is also more competitive against weeds than similar grasses.[3] Weeds can be controlled by the application of saltwater, in which weeds will die and the grass will survive.[9]

There are many cultivars bred for various uses. These cultivars are highly variable. For example, fine-textured types are used for golf courses, while coarser grass is selected for roadside revegetation.[6] The best-known and oldest cultivar may be 'Adalayd'[3] a grass with a similar texture and blue-green color to Kentucky bluegrass.[2] The cultivar 'Aloha' is a dark green grass used for golf courses and athletic fields. 'Salam', the most common cultivar in Hawaii, is another dark green type suitable for golf courses.[6] The leaves of 'Salam' are glossy on the undersides, giving the field a striped look when it is mowed.[7] 'Seadwarf' is a bright green type that is more resistant to a grass disease called dollar spot than other cultivars.[6]

There are other uses for the grass, including erosion control in sandy coastal areas, its native habitat. It can be used in phytoremediation when the soils are high in heavy metals.[5] It has been shown to survive pollution with crude oil.[10] It can be used to feed livestock and some wild herbivores will graze it.[7]

Wikispecies has information related to Paspalum vaginatum.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Paspalum vaginatum.

Truist Park the home ballpark of the Atlanta Braves has Seashore Paspalum Platinum TE as its field surface.

References

  1. ^ a b Paspalum vaginatum. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk.
  2. ^ a b c Duble, R. L. Seashore Paspalum. Aggie Horticulture. Texas A&M System.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Ralish, G. Paspalum vaginatum: An alternative to bermudagrass. Archived 2011-09-07 at the Wayback Machine University of Florida Turf Science.
  4. ^ a b c Paspalum vaginatum. Archived 2012-12-11 at archive.today Grass Manual Treatment.
  5. ^ a b c d Paspalum vaginatum. USDA NRCS Plant Fact Sheet.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h Brosnan, J. T. and J. Deputy. Seashore Paspalum. Cooperative Extension, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.
  7. ^ a b c d e Paspalum vaginatum. USDA NRCS Plant Guide.
  8. ^ Sun, Guangchao; Wase, Nishikant; Shu, Shengqiang; Jenkins, Jerry; Zhou, Bangjun; Torres-Rodríguez, J. Vladimir; Chen, Cindy; Sandor, Laura; Plott, Chris; Yoshinga, Yuko; Daum, Christopher; Qi, Peng; Barry, Kerrie; Lipzen, Anna; Berry, Luke; Pedersen, Connor; Gottilla, Thomas; Foltz, Ashley; Yu, Huihui; O’Malley, Ronan; Zhang, Chi; Devos, Katrien M.; Sigmon, Brandi; Yu, Bin; Obata, Toshihiro; Schmutz, Jeremy; Schnable, James C. (2022-12-13). "Genome of Paspalum vaginatum and the role of trehalose mediated autophagy in increasing maize biomass". Nature Communications. 13 (1). doi:10.1038/s41467-022-35507-8. ISSN 2041-1723.
  9. ^ Zulkaliph, N. A., et al. (2011). Use of saline water for weed control in seashore Paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum). Australian Journal of Crop Science 5 523-30.
  10. ^ Bamidele, J. F. and A. Igiri. (2011). Growth of seashore paspalum, (Paspalum vaginatum L) in soil contaminated with crude petroleum oil. J. Appl. Sci. Environ. Manage. 15(2) 303-306.

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Paspalum vaginatum: Brief Summary

provided by wikipedia EN

Paspalum vaginatum is a species of grass known by many names, including seashore paspalum, biscuit grass, saltwater couch, silt grass, and swamp couch. It is native to the Americas, where it grows in tropical and subtropical regions. It is found throughout the other tropical areas of the world, where it is an introduced species and sometimes an invasive weed. It is also cultivated as a turfgrass in many places.

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