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GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora
Descriptions
W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson
© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Paspalum decumbens
HABIT Perennial; mat forming. Culms decumbent; 15–40 cm long; 1–1.5 mm diam.; rooting from lower nodes. Culm-internodes hollow; distally glabrous. Culm-nodes glabrous, or pubescent. Leaf-sheaths keeled; glabrous on surface, or pubescent; outer margin hairy. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 0.3–0.5 mm long; brown. Leaf-blade base cordate; with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 3–7 cm long; 7–12 mm wide. Leaf-blade midrib prominent beneath. Leaf-blade surface pilose. Leaf-blade margins ciliate. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.
INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes; terminal and axillary. Peduncle pilose above.
Racemes 1; single; arcuate; unilateral; 0.7–3 cm long. Rhachis narrowly winged; folded longitudinally to embrace spikelets; 0.5 mm wide; glabrous on margins, or ciliate on margins. Spikelet packing crowded; irregular; 4 -rowed.
Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets pedicelled; 2 in the cluster. Pedicels scabrous.
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets obovate; dorsally compressed; 1.5–1.7 mm long; falling entire.
GLUMES Glumes two; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume oblate; 0.2–0.4 mm long; 0 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex truncate. Upper glume ovate; 1.1–1.2 mm long; 0.75 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 3(–5) -veined. Upper glume apex obtuse.
FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to upper glume; elliptic; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; 3 -veined; with unevenly spaced veins (close to margin). Palea of lower sterile floret 0.75 length of lemma. Fertile lemma ovate; 1.4–1.5 mm long; indurate; pallid; without keel. Lemma surface striate. Lemma margins involute. Palea involute; indurate.
FLOWER Anthers 3; 0.6–0.8 mm long; pallid.
FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; orbicular; plano-convex; 0.9 mm long.
DISTRIBUTION North America: Mexico. South America: Mesoamericana, Caribbean, northern South America, western South America, and Brazil.
NOTES Paniceae. Fl Costaric 1993.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
