Overview
Interesting Facts
Common Names
Click on the language to view common names.
Common Names in English:
Carpetgrass, Caratao Grass, Carpet Grass, Common Carpergrass, Common Carpet Grass, Common Carpetgrass, Louisiana Grass, Mat Grass, Narrowleaved Carpetgrass, Southern Carpet Grass
Common Names in German:
Teppichrasengras
Common Names in Portuguese:
Grama-Missioneira
Common Names in Spanish:
Gramalote, Zacate Amargo
Description
Genus Axonopus
Perennials
, rarely annuals
. Culms
tufted
or stoloniferous
. Leaf blades
flat or involute
, often obtuse
; ligule short, membranous-ciliolate. Inflorescence composed of 2 to many slender racemes
, mostly subdigitate but sometimes along a short central axis; spikelets
borne singly, subsessile
, alternating in 2 rows
along the narrow triquetrous
rachis, lower lemma adaxial
. Spikelets lanceolate to oblong
, flatly biconvex
, florets
2 (but apparently 1) ; lower glume
absent; upper glume membranous, as long as spikelet, obscurely 4- or 5-veined; lower floret neuter
, reduced to an empty lemma similar to upper glume, its palea absent; upper floret crustaceous, lemma margins inrolled
, apex obtuse. x = 9, 10.
About 110 species: tropical
and subtropical
America, one species in Africa; two species (both introduced
) in China.
Many species of Axonopus are good forage
or lawn grasses. The two species found in China have been widely introduced in the humid tropics of the world.[1]
Physical Description
Species Axonopus fissifolius
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. [source]
This species is similar to Axonopus compressus, but tends
to favor rather cooler and more waterlogged situations. It is naturalized
in Taiwan and has also been found in Xizang. [source]
Habit: Graminoid
Habitat
Moist muddy or sandy meadows, naturalized .[2].
Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,770 meters (0 to 9,088 feet).[3]
Biology
Reproduction
Duration: Perennial
Taxonomy
- Domain:
Eukaryota
(
)
- Whittaker & Margulis,1978
- eukaryotes
- Kingdom:
Plantae
()
- Haeckel, 1866
- Plants
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
()
- Cavalier-Smith, 1981
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
()
- Sinnott, 1935 ex Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Vascular Plants
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
()
- (Auct.) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
- Infraphylum:
Angiospermae
()
- Auct.
- Class:
Spermatopsida
()
- Brongniart, 1843
- Subclass:
Commelinidae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Superorder:
Juncanae
()
- Takhtajan, 1967
- Order:
Poales
()
- Small, 1903
- Family:
Gramineae
()
- A.L. de Jussieu, 1789, nom. cons., nom. alt.
- Subfamily:
Panicoideae
()
- Tribe:
Paniceae
()
- Subtribe:
Setariinae
()
- Genus:
Axonopus
()
- Palisot de Beauvois, 1812
- Carpetgrass
- Specific epithet:
fissifolius
- (Raddi) Kuhlm.
- Botanical name: - Axonopus fissifolius (Raddi) Kuhlm.
- Specific epithet:
fissifolius
- (Raddi) Kuhlm.
- Genus:
Axonopus
(
- Subtribe:
Setariinae
(
- Tribe:
Paniceae
(
- Subfamily:
Panicoideae
(
- Family:
Gramineae
(
- Order:
Poales
(
- Superorder:
Juncanae
(
- Subclass:
Commelinidae
(
- Class:
Spermatopsida
(
- Infraphylum:
Angiospermae
(
- Subphylum:
Euphyllophytina
(
- Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(
- Subkingdom:
Viridaeplantae
(
- Kingdom:
Plantae
(
Synonyms
A. compressus var. affinis (Chase) M. R. Henderson • Agrostogr. Bras. 26. 1823 • Axonopus affinis Chase • Paspalum fissifolium Raddi • Paspalum xizangense B. S. Sun & H. Sun.
Notes
Name
Status: Accepted Name
.
Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000
Similar Species
Members of the genus Axonopus
ZipcodeZoo has pages for 7 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:
A. aureus (Golden Carpetgrass) · A. barbiger (Flounders) · A. compressus (Broadleaf Carpetgrass) · A. fissifolius (Carpetgrass) · A. furcatus (Big Carpet Grass) · A. purpusii (Purpus' Carpetgrass) · A. scoparius (Carpetgrass)
More Info
- Search for Pictures: images.google.com
- Search for Scholarly Articles: Google Scholar
- Search using Scientific Name and Vernacular Names: All the Web | AltaVista Canada | AltaVista | Excite | Google | HotBot | Lycos
- Search using Specialized Databases: GenBank | Medline | Scirus | CISTI/CAL | Agricola Periodicals | Agricola Books
Further Reading
- Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. Washington [etc., Washington Academy of Sciences] url p. 172.
- Phytologia. Bronx Park, New York, H.A. Gleason and H.N. Moldenke, url p. 122.
Notes
Contributors
- Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-present. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Zwaag, The Netherlands. Accessed January 10, 2012.
Data Sources
Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 17, 2007:
- Australian National Herbarium
- , Australian National Herbarium
- Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Bishop Museum Natural History Specimen Data
- Herbarium of the University of Aarhus, The AAU Herbarium Database
- Herbier de la Guyane, Herbier de la Guyane
- Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad
- , Biodiversidad de Costa Rica
- Missouri Botanical Garden, Missouri Botanical Garden
- National Herbarium of New South Wales, NSW herbarium collection
- National Herbarium of New South Wales, Plants of Papua New Guinea
- UNIBIO, IBUNAM, MEXU/Plantas Vasculares
- USDA PLANTS, USDA PLANTS Database
- University of Alabama Biodiversity and Systematics, Herbarium
Identifiers
- Biodiversity Heritage Library NamebankID: 2664467
- Catalogue of Life Accepted Name Code: ITS-193433
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility Taxonkey: 13732332
- Globally Unique Identifier: urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:392108-1
- GRIN Nomen Number: 317140
- Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Taxonomic Serial Number (TSN): 193433
- Natural Heritage Network Species Identifier: PMPOA0U0H0
- U.S.D.A. Plant Symbol: AXFI
- Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 22175
Footnotes
- Shou-liang Chen & Sylvia M. Phillips "Axonopus". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 500, 530. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
- "Axonopus fissifolius". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 530, 531. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
- Mean = 287.260 meters (942.454 feet), Standard Deviation = 861.040 based on 586 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
