Passalum

Paspalum is a genus of herbaceous plants belonging to the Poaceae family. It is a cosmopolitan genus that is distributed throughout temperate regions.

Description

They are perennial, cespitose or stoloniferous plants. Pods with glabrous or hairy margins. Leaves with a flat blade; scarious ligule Inflorescence formed by clusters inserted along a compressed axis, or arranged subdigitally. Shortly stalked spikelets, with a sterile lower flower and a hermaphroditic upper flower. glumes very unequal; lower one reduced to an ovate-triangular membranous scale or absent; the upper one as long as the flowers, submembranous, with a convex back, with 4-7 nerves. Lower flower with herbaceous or submembranous lemma, as long as the upper glume, without palea. Upper flower with lemma without apparent nerves, convex and smooth back, and palea as long as the lemma, with 2 coriaceous, flattened keels. Suborbicular caryopsis.

Taxonomy

The genus was described by Carlos Linnaeus and published in Systema Naturae, Editio Decima 2: 846, 855, 1359. 1759. The type species is: Paspalum dissectum (L.) L., 1762 (syn.: Paspalum dimidiatum L., 1759 nom. illeg.; Panicum dissectum L., 1753; Paspalum membranaceum Walter, 1788; Paspalum walterianum Schultes, 1824 illeg. nom.)··

Etymology

The generic name is derived from the Greek paspalos (a kind of millet).

Cytology

The basic chromosome number of the genus is x = 10 and 12, with somatic chromosome numbers of 2n = 20, 40, 48, 50, 60, 63 and 80, since there are diploid species and a polyploid series. Relatively 'small' chromosomes. Persistent nucleoli.

Species

• Paspalum Species List