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Axonopus fissifolius (Raddi) Kuhlm.
common carpetgrass

 

Kingdom  Plantae -- Plants

Subkingdom  Tracheobionta -- Vascular plants

Superdivision  Spermatophyta -- Seed plants

Division  Magnoliophyta -- Flowering plants

Class  Liliopsida -- Monocotyledons

Subclass  Commelinidae

Order  Cyperales

Family  Poaceae -- Grass family

Genus  Axonopus Beauv. -- carpetgrass P

Species  Axonopus fissifolius (Raddi) Kuhlm. -- common carpetgrass P

 

Alternate Names

Axonopus affinis, axonopus, caratao grass, carpet grass, teppichrasengras, grama-missioneira, gramalote zacate amargo, Louisiana grass, mat grass, narrowleaved carpetgrass

 

Uses

Common carpetgrass is grazed all year by livestock.  It is a managed pasture grass in some localities.  It is also used on recreational areas such as campgrounds, parking lots, baseball fields, and picnic areas.

 

Status

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status, such as, state noxious status and wetland indicator values.

 

Description

Grass Family (Poaceae).  Common carpetgrass is a native, warm‑season, stoloniferous perennial grass.  The height is between 8 and 20 inches.  The leaf blade is usually flat or folded; 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide; fine hair along margin near base; rounded or slightly pointed; and reddish or purplish near maturity.  The ligule is a minute membrane.  The seedhead is usually 3 slender racemes 1‑1/2 to 4 inches long, 2 at summit and 1, rarely 2, below.

 

Distribution: For current distribution, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Web site.

 

Management

For maximum production and most efficient harvest by livestock, grazing should be rotated about every 30 to 40 days and no more than 50 percent of current year's growth by weight grazed off.  A 2‑ to 3‑inch stubble height is a good gage of proper use.  Fertilization is not profitable on all sites.

 

Establishment

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.

 

Cultivars, Improved and Selected Materials (and area of origin)

Please contact your local NRCS Field Office.

 

Reference

Leithead, H.L., L.L. Yarlett, & T.N. Shiflett. 1976. 100 native forage grasses in 11 southern states. USDA SCS Agriculture Handbook No. 389, Washington, DC.

 

Prepared By & Species Coordinator:

Percy Magee, USDA NRCS National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

 

Edited: 25june02 ahv; jul03 ahv; 20sep05 jsp; 070116 jsp

 

For more information about this and other plants, please contact your local NRCS field office or Conservation District, and visit the PLANTS Web site<https://plants.usda.gov> or the Plant Materials Program Web site <https://Plant-Materials.nrcs.usda.gov>

 

 

 

Attribution:  U.S. Department of Agriculture