Paspalum praecox
| Paspalum praecox | |
|---|---|
| |
| Photo by Guy Anglin, Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta - Flowering plants |
| Class: | Liliopsida – Monocotyledons |
| Order: | Cyperales |
| Family: | Poaceae ⁄ Gramineae |
| Genus: | Paspalum |
| Species: | P. praecox |
| Binomial name | |
| Paspalum praecox Walter | |
| |
| Natural range of Paspalum praecox from USDA NRCS Plants Database. | |
Common names: early paspalum; early crown grass, Curtis's crown grass[1]
Contents
Taxonomic notes
Synonyms: Paspalum lentiferum Lamarck; P. praecox var. curtissianum, orthographic error[1]
Varieties: P. praecox Walter var. curtisianum (Steudel) Vasey; Paspalum praecox Walter var. praecox[1]
Description
"Annuals or perennials. Leaves primarily basal and low cauline; blade margins usually scaberulous; ligules membranous. Spikelets plano-convex, terminal floret fertile, basal floret sterile. Frist glume usually absent, sterile lemma resembles 2nd glume; fertile lemma and paleas indurate, lustrous, yellowish or brownish. These plants are all important forage grasses."[2]
"Erect perennial from short rhizomes; culms 6-9 dm tall, nodes and internodes glabrous. Blades to 20 cm long, 1.5-4 mm wide, glabrous or villous on both surfaces, occasionally pilose basally above; sheaths glabrous, villous or sparsely papillose above, margins smooth; ligules 2-2.5 mm long. Racemes 3-5, racemose, ascending, 2-6 cm long; rachis wing scaberulous, 1-1.2 mm wide. Spikelets broadly obovoid to suborbicular, flattish, 2.2-3.2 mm long, in 4 rows, 2 rows rudimentary; pedicels scaberulous angled, 0.1-1 mm long. Second glume and sterile lemmas 3-nerved, yellowish green , margins scarious, obtuse 2.2-3.2 mm long; fertile lemma and palea nerveless, papillose, obtuse, 2.2-3.2 mm long. Grain brownish, broadly ellipsoid, flat, 2 mm long."[2]
The two variations are distinguishable by their lower sheaths - var. curtisianum has a villous or hirsute texture, while var. praecox has glabrous or sparsely papillose-pubescent.[1]
Distribution
This species ranges from Pennsylvania to Kansas and Colorado, south to Florida, southern Texas, and Mexico. It also grows in Cuba.[1]
Ecology
Habitat
This species has been found growing in open areas of longleaf and slash pine in wet, sandy, and peaty soils.[3] It has also been found in moist, loose, and loamy sands of ditches along trails within pine plantations.[3] Associated species include Andropogon, Sorghastrum, and Pinus palustris.[3]
Phenology
P. praecox flowers from June through October.[1]
Fire ecology
This species can be found in burned, open longleaf pine areas.[3] Populations of Paspalum praecox have been known to persist through repeated annual burning.[4]
Conservation, cultivation, and restoration
Cultural use
Photo Gallery
References and notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Weakley, A.S. 2020. Flora of the Southeastern United States. Edition of 20 October 2020. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Radford, Albert E., Harry E. Ahles, and C. Ritchie Bell. Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas. 1964, 1968. The University of North Carolina Press. 136. Print.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Florida State University Robert K. Godfrey Herbarium database. URL: http://herbarium.bio.fsu.edu. Last accessed: June 2014. Collectors: Loran C. Anderson, Wilson Baker, Ann F. Johnson, Robert K. Godfrey, R. Komarek, Travis MacClendon, and Karen MacClendon. States and Counties: Florida: Calhoun, Dixie, Liberty, and Wakulla. Georgia: Thomas.
- ↑ Platt, W.J., R. Carter, G. Nelson, W. Baker, S. Hermann, J. Kane, L. Anderson, M. Smith, K. Robertson. 2021. Unpublished species list of Wade Tract old-growth longleaf pine savanna, Thomasville, Georgia.
