common carpetgrass
Family
PoaceaeScientific Name
Axonopus fissifoliusOther Common Names:
gramalote zacate amargo
narrowleaved carpetgrass
Louisiana grass
axonopus
caratao grass
carpet
grass
grama-missioneira
mat grass
teppichrasengras
Synonyms (former Scientific Names):
Axonopus affinis
Habit
It grows and looks very similar to St. Augustinegrass and centipedegrass. It is a perennial creeping grass that produces a thick mat or sward with light green and course-textured blades
Leaves
The leaf blade is usually flat or folded and 6 inches long and 6 to 12 mm wide; fine hair along margin near base; rounded or slightly pointed; and reddish or purplish near maturity. The ligule is a very short membrane.
Identifying Characteristics
Common carpetgrass is a native, warm-season, stoloniferous perennial grass. The height is can range between 0.5 and 2 feet if unmown. It can be found in lawns as desired or an infestation due to its similarity to other turfgrass species.
Flower Seed Head
The seedhead has 2 to 5 (usually 3) slender racemes 1 to 4 in long.
Where Found
In southern Florida, common carpetgrass stays green all year. Elsewhere, it becomes dormant early in the fall and starts growth in the spring. It produces seedheads and stolons during the active growth period. It reproduces from stolons and from seed. Pure stands are common. It is adapted to clays, sands, mucks, and peats. Most commonly, it is found on slightly acid sandy to sandy loam soils that have a favorable soil-moisture relationship.
Leaf Hair on Upper Surface
Varies:
no hairs,
hairs on basal half only
Leaf Arrangement
folded in bud
Mature Leaf Width
Varies:
less than 5 mm,
6 to 15 mm
Stem
flat or oval
Seedhead
branched spike
Life Cycle
perennial
Auricle
not present
Ligule
hairy
Ligule Length
Varies:
less than 1 mm,
1-2 mm
Plant Type
Grass