Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Eremochloa ophiuroides
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
The main stems of Centipede Grass creep along the ground and root at many nodes; these stems may reach 2-4 feet long and are branched so that plants form patches or mats. Erect, narrow, flowering stems grow less than a foot tall, terminated by a skinny inflorescence, per Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
Read about the chronology of the spread of the now widely naturalized Centipede in Eremochloa Ophiuroides (Poaceae) –– Distribution and Collection Chronology in the US (Sorrie, 2020)
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Eremochloa ophiuroides
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Eremochloa ophiuroides
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)
Eremochloa ophiuroides
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Eremochloa ophiuroides
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-93x-001x:
Eremochloa ophiuroides FAMILY Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Eremochloa ophiuroides
COMMON NAME:
Centipede Grass
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Keith Bradley kab_e_ophiuroides_71844
June Miami-Dade County FL
Fertile spikelets embedded in a fleshy rachis (resembling a rattail) or a cob, per Weakley's Flora.
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JK Marlow jkm200908_7123
September Spartanburg County SC
Hard to see here, but the stigmas were lavender and fresh anthers bright purple!
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JK Marlow jkm200908_7124
September Spartanburg County SC
A solitary, terminal, 1-sided raceme of closely overlapping spikelets, per Flora of China.
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JK Marlow jkm200908_7125
September Spartanburg County SC
This distinctive inflorescence does not break up readily into segments, per Flora of China.
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Keith Bradley kab_e_ophiuroides_71560
October Miami-Dade County FL
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Keith Bradley kab_e_ophiuroides_71562
October Miami-Dade County FL
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Eremochloa ophiuroides
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Eremochloa ophiuroides
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Eremochloa ophiuroides
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Eremochloa ophiuroides
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Eremochloa ophiuroides
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 029-93x-001x:
Eremochloa ophiuroides
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Eremochloa ophiuroides
3948
Grass, Sedge, or Rush
Perennial
Habitat: Lawns, roadsides, weedy in open, more natural sites, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: southeast Asia
Common in Coastal Plain, uncommon in Piedmont, rare in Mountains
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Mostly basal
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Rhizomatous
FLOWER:
Summer/Fall
Inflorescence a single terminal raceme
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".