Common name: Bahia Grass
Paspalum notatum Fluegge APNI* 
Description: Ascending perennials to c. 80 cm tall, with stout, mostly horizontal rhizomes, the rhizome clothed with firm persistent bases of old sheaths.
Leaves crowded near the base of the culms; sheath glabrous or ciliate towards the summit; ligule truncate, 0.3–0.6 mm long with a dense row of white hairs up to c. 1 mm long behind it; blade 3–10 mm wide, rarely sparsely pilose towards the base, otherwise glabrous.
Inflorescence well exserted at maturity, the common axis up to 1.5 mm long; racemes 2–4 erect to divergent, 4.8–12 cm long. Spikelets solitary, imbricate, in 2 ranks, ovate to widely elliptic, rarely almost orbicular, 2.75–4 mm long, 2–3 mm wide, glabrous, shining. Lower glume minute or absent; upper glume firm in texture, equalling the spikelet, concave, 5-nerved, the apex obtuse to notched, the margins recurved, midnerve rarely absent, sometimes transversely wrinkled; lower lemma similar and subequal to the upper glume, flat to concave, midnerve prominent, 3–5-nerved. Fertile lemma 2.3–3 mm long, papillose-striate, glabrous, indurate, the apex obtuse, sometimes the basal 25% hyaline; palea flattened or rarely slightly rolled, subequalling the lemma.
Flowering: Summer.
Distribution and occurrence: Native of South America. Introduced as a pasture species but of doubtful value, now mostly a weed of roadsides.
NSW subdivisions: *NC, *CC, *NT, *NWS
Other Australian states: *Qld *N.T. *W.A. *Vic.
Text by Jacobs, S.W.L., Whalley, R.D.B. & Wheeler, D.J.B.
Taxon concept: Grasses of New South Wales, Fourth Edition (2008).
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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