Bahia grass (
Paspalum notatum), also known as
Common bahia and
Pensacola bahia, is a tropical to subtropical
perennialA perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants...
grassGrasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns...
(family Poaceae). It is notable for its prominent dual, V-shaped
inflorescenceAn inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
consisting of two spike-like
racemeA raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s containing multiple tiny spikelets, each about 2.8-3.5 mm long.
This grass is low-growing and creeping with
stolonIn biology, stolons are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external skeletons.-In botany:...
s and stout, scaly
rhizomeIn botany, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
s. Stolons are pressed firmly to the ground, have short internodes, and root freely from the nodes forming a dense
sodSod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of this material.The term sod may be used to mean turf grown and cut specifically for the establishment of lawns...
.
Bahia grass (
Paspalum notatum), also known as
Common bahia and
Pensacola bahia, is a tropical to subtropical
perennialA perennial plant or perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. When used by gardeners or horticulturalists, this term applies specifically to perennial herbaceous plants...
grassGrasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns...
(family Poaceae). It is notable for its prominent dual, V-shaped
inflorescenceAn inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
consisting of two spike-like
racemeA raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
s containing multiple tiny spikelets, each about 2.8-3.5 mm long.
This grass is low-growing and creeping with
stolonIn biology, stolons are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external skeletons.-In botany:...
s and stout, scaly
rhizomeIn botany, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
s. Stolons are pressed firmly to the ground, have short internodes, and root freely from the nodes forming a dense
sodSod or turf is grass and the part of the soil beneath it held together by the roots, or a piece of this material.The term sod may be used to mean turf grown and cut specifically for the establishment of lawns...
. The flat, tough-textured
leavesIn botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis. For this purpose, a leaf is typically flat and thin. There is continued debate about whether the flatness of leaves evolved to expose the chloroplasts to more light or to increase the absorption of carbon dioxide. In...
are usually hairless, with blades 2-6 mm wide. They are flat, folded, and inrolled, tapering to a fine point. The leaf bases at the terminus of each rhizome usually have a purplish hue. Stems usually reach 20-75 cm tall.
The terminal dual racemes are each attached to the top of a slender stem or with one slightly below the other. Infrequently, there may be a third present below the terminal ones. The spikelets closely overlap in two rows. They are broad, rounded, smooth and shiny. Inside each spikelet is a tiny
flowerA flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to mediate the union of male sperm with female ovum in order to produce seeds...
. The tiny, black, featherlike stigmas and black
stamenThe stamen is the male organ of a flower. Each stamen generally has a stalk called the filament , and, on top of the filament, an anther , and pollen sacs,...
s can be seen dangling at the tips of these flowers.
Bahia grass is native to
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and
South AmericaSouth America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
, but has been naturalized in
North AmericaNorth America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and in the western hemisphere. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the east by the North Atlantic Ocean, on the southeast by the Caribbean Sea, and on the west by the North Pacific...
and other places. It prefers sandy soils and is tolerant of shade. It is also fairly hardy, tolerating salty conditions and drought extremely well. Plants seed from June to November.
This grass is used primarily as a forage. The nutritive value remains high when mature, but it is not very productive. It is also valued as an
erosionErosion is a gravity driven process that moves solids in the natural environment or their source and deposits them elsewhere...
-controlling soil stabilizer, as well as for its productivity, ease of establishment and persistence. It makes a relatively low-maintenance turfgrass as well, with less disease and insect problems than some of the other warm season grasses.