Axonopus fissifolius (Raddi) Kuhlm.

Common carpetgrass (en)

Species

Angiosperms > Poales > Poaceae > Axonopus

Characteristics

Narrow, glabrous, shortly rhizomatous, ± fan-shaped tufts, from rather woody, creeping, sometimes arching stolons, to 2 mm diam.; often forming dense mats to 1 m diam., with rather short, wide leaves and wiry, ± filiform, very narrow, ± drooping culms; branching intravaginal. Leaf-sheath whitish green to light brown, sometimes purplish, coriaceous, glabrous, compressed and strongly keeled; margins wide, membranous. Ligule 0.2-0.3 mm, minutely ciliate, hairs < 0.5 mm, sometimes extending as a contra-ligule. Leaf-blade (2)-5-12 cm × 2-7 mm, linear, scarcely narrowed above, flat or folded, often keeled towards tip, stiffly herbaceous, glabrous, ribs few, well-spaced; margins scarcely thickened, with a few scattered long hairs near base and scabrid near obtuse tip. Culm (6)-20-55 cm, nodes glabrous, or rarely villous, internodes glabrous. Inflorescence of 2-3, rarely 4, slender, ± erect racemes. Racemes 3.5-7.5 cm; rachis triangular, minutely scabrid on narrow wings, bearing close-set, subsessile, alternate spikelets in 2 rows. Spikelets c. 2 mm, green or purplish, oblong-elliptic, obtuse or subacute. Lower glume 0. Upper glume = spikelet, firmly membranous, 4-nerved, the 2 pairs of nerves near each margin, outer internerves often with a few soft hairs. Lower floret: lemma similar to upper glume. Upper floret: lemma 1.6-1.8 mm, elliptic, obtuse, thinly crustaceous, glabrous, shining, cream, very minutely punctulate-striolate; palea of same texture, slightly shorter and narrower than lemma, keels very rounded; anthers 0.7-1 mm; caryopsis c. 1.2 × 0.7 mm.
More
Perennial, 250-600 mm high, strongly stoloniferous, forming dense swards; culm nodes glabrous. Leaf blade 200 x 8 mm, rounded at apex; ligule a fringed membrane. Inflorescence digitate or subdigitate, of 2-many slender racemes; spikelets adaxial on branches and solitary at point of attachment. Spikelet 2 x 1 mm, dorsiventrally compressed, awnless; glumes unequal; lower glume absent; upper glume and lower lemma similar, backs turned away from rachis. Florets 2; lower floret sterile, lemma without median nerve; upper floret bisexual, lemma as long as spikelet, 4-nerved, glabrous, entire, margins narrow, inrolled and covering only edges of palea; anther 0.7-1.0 mm long. Flowering time Dec.-May.
Perennial with creeping stolons. Culms compressed, 15–50 cm tall, nodes glabrous. Leaf sheaths compressed, strongly keeled; leaf blades broadly linear, folded, 5–20 × 0.3–0.6 cm, apex obtuse; ligule ca. 0.2 mm. Racemes 2–4, 2-paired, any others spaced slightly below, 3–8 cm, only slightly diverging; rachis glabrous. Spikelets oblong-elliptic, 1.5–2 mm, pilose near margins and apex or subglabrous, apex subacute; upper glume and lower lemma 2–4-veined, midvein absent; upper lemma pale, ovate, as long as spikelet, obtuse with a short apical tuft of hairs; stigmas purple. Fl. and fr. summer–autumn. 2n = 54, 80.
Perennial, stoloniferous, up to 0.6 m high, strongly stoloniferous, forming dense swards. Culm nodes glabrous. Leaf blades up to 200 mm long, 8 mm wide, rounded at tip. Spikelets 2 mm long, 1 mm wide; female-fertile (upper) lemma as long as spikelet.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention -
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.25 - 0.5
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) 0.5
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway c3

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity 4-6
Soil texture -
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 9-12

Usage

Uses animal food environmental use fodder medicinal ornamental
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) 22 - 32
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Axonopus fissifolius unspecified picture

Distribution

Axonopus fissifolius world distribution map, present in Åland Islands, Andorra, Bangladesh, Belize, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Brazil, China, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Ecuador, Fiji, Georgia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Haiti, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Liberia, Myanmar, Mauritius, Norfolk Island, Nicaragua, New Zealand, Panama, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Paraguay, Réunion, Solomon Islands, Sierra Leone, eSwatini, Taiwan, Province of China, Uruguay, United States of America, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Viet Nam, Wallis and Futuna, Samoa, South Africa, and Zimbabwe

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:27338-2
WFO ID wfo-0000852827
COL ID 5VYZ7
BDTFX ID 121165
INPN ID 671916
Wikipedia (EN) Link
Wikipedia (FR) Link

Synonyms

Axonopus affinis Axonopus fissifolius Paspalum filifolium Paspalum xizangense Axonopus hirsutus Axonopus ater Paspalum fissifolium Axonopus stragulus Axonopus compressus var. affinis Axonopus fissifolius var. coronatus Paspalum compressum var. arenarium Paspalum platycaulon var. gracilius Axonopus fissifolius var. fissifolius Paspalum platycaulon var. pygmaeum