Paspalum decumbens Sw.

Paspalum pedunculatum Poir. in Lam. Encyc
Suppl. 4 : 315. 1816.
Paspalum decumbens Sw. Prodr. 22. 1788. Not P. decumbens Rottb. 1778. ? Paspalum nutans Lam. Tab. Encyc. 1 : 175. 1791. Panicum decumbens R. & S. Syst. Veg;, 2 : 429. 1817. Paspalum curvislachyum Raddi, Agrost. Bras. 26. 1823. Paspalum. vaginiflorum. Steud. Syn. Gram. 19. 1854.
Stems up to 3 dm. tall or longer, branched and rooted at the lower nodes, with one or more leafless pubescent flower-bearing branches from the upper axil; leaf-sheaths ciliate, otherwise glabrous or pubescent; blades up to 7 cm. long, rarely longer, up to 12 mm. wide, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, acute, flat, ciliate, the surface usually pubescent, rarely glabrous; racemes straight or ciuved, single, 1.5-4 cm. long, the rachis flat, about 0.5 mm. wide, usually pubescent, at least below, rarely glabrous ; spikelets in pairs, glabrous, 1.3-1.5 mm. long, 1-1.2 mm. wide, broadly obovate or oval, obtuse, often apiculate, the first scale orbicular, obtuse or acute,
T
rarely exceeding one third of the spikelet, the second scale about half as long as the spikelet, orbicular, rounded at the apex, 3-nerved, the third scale as long as the spikelet, 3-nerved, or sometimes with an obscure additional lateral nerve, the fruiting scale about as long as the third scale or a little shorter, yellowishgreen, broadly oval, obtuse, strongly roughened with longitudinal rows of papillae.
Type locality : Dutch Guiana.
Distribution : Jamaica and Cuba to Porto Rico, and from Guatemala to Panama ; also in tropical South America.

Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Stems trailing, spreading or prostrate, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems geniculate, decumbent, or lax, sometimes rooting at nodes, Stems mat or turf forming, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stems branching above base or distally at nodes, Stem nodes bearded or hairy, Stem internodes solid or spongy, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves pseudo-petiolate, petiole attached to sheath, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly open, or loose, Leaf sheath hairy, hispid or prickly, Leaf sheath or blade keeled, Leaf sheath and blade differentiated, Leaf blades lanceolate, Lea f blades 2-10 mm wide, Leaf blades 1-2 cm wide, Leaf blades mostly flat, Leaf blades more or less hairy, Leaf blades scabrous, roughened, or wrinkled, Ligule present, Ligule an unfringed eciliate membrane, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence a dense slender spike-like panicle or raceme, branches contracted, Inflorescence solitary, with 1 spike, fascicle, glomerule, head, or cluster per stem or culm, Inflorescence curved, twisted or nodding, Inflorescence a panicle with narrowly racemose or spicate branches, Inflorescence single raceme, fascicle or spike, Inflorescence spikelets arranged in a terminal bilateral spike, Inflorescence branches 1-sided, Rachis dilated, flat, central axis to which spikelets are attached, Rachis winged, Flowers bisexual, Spikelets pedicellate, Spikelets dorsally compressed or terete, Spikelet less than 3 mm wide, Spikelets with 1 fertile floret, Spikelets with 2 florets, Spikelet with 1 fertile floret and 1-2 sterile florets, Spikelets paired a t rachis nodes, Spikelets all alike and fertille, Spikelets bisexual, Spikelets disarticulating below the glumes, Spikelets secund, in rows on one side of rachis, Rachilla or pedicel glabrous, Glumes present, empty bracts, Glumes 2 clearly present, Glumes distinctly unequal, Glumes equal to or longer than adjacent lemma, Glume equal to or longer than spikelet, Glumes 3 nerved, Glumes 4-7 nerved, Lemma similar in texture to glumes, Lemma 3 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma apex truncate, rounded, or obtuse, Lemma awnless, Lemma straight, Palea present, well developed, Palea shorter than lemma, Stamens 3, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis.