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ABSTRACT
Lonard, R.I.; Judd, F.W., and Stalter, R., 2015. Biological flora of coastal dunes and wetlands: Paspalum vaginatum Sw. Journal of Coastal Research, 31(1), 213-223. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.
Paspalum vaginatum Sw. is a warm temperate, subtropical, pantropical, stoloniferous, and rhizomatous grass that is an important species in brackish marshes, salt marshes, and occasionally on the margins of mangrove swamps. Also known as seashore paspalum, it tolerates salinity regimes ranging from freshwater to hypersalinity conditions of 50 ppt. Paspalum vaginatum is important in shoreline stabilization and enhances habitat restoration efforts. Numerous cultivars have been selected as turfgrasses for use in saline sites because this species can be irrigated with full-strength seawater.
ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Seashore paspalum, morphology, habitats, communities, population ecology, physiological ecology, response to water levels, economic values, role in geomorphology.
INTRODUCTION
The grass genus Paspalum is represented by 300 to 400 species in warm temperate, subtropical, and tropical regions throughout the world (Allen and Hall, 2003). Forty-three species are found in the United States, and 24 are native (Allen and Hall, 2003). Paspalum vaginatum is widely naturalized and cultivated as a turfgrass and has been used in phytoremediation of dredged materials subjected to deposits of heavy metals (Bianchi et al., 2010, 2011; Verloove and Reyes-Betancort, 2011). It is an important species in the harsh environment of tidal flats, where it can withstand long periods of inundation. This species is important in preventing coastal erosion because of its dense, mat-like growth pattern. Herein, we summarize important aspects of the biology of this species.
TAXONOMY AND VARIATION
Paspalum vaginatum O. Swartz, family Poaceae (Gramineae), subfamily Panicoideae, tribe Paniceae, Paspalum L. The taxon was published under the name Digitaria foliosa Lag. in 1816. An extensive set of synonyms exist for this species (Zuloaga et al., 2003) (Table 1). Common names in English include seashore paspalum, sheathed paspalum, biscuit grass, jointgrass, knot grass, knotweed, salt grass, saltwater couch, saltwater paspalum, seashore crowngrass, seashore grass, silt grass, swamp couch, water couch, and sand knotgrass.
Taxonomic Description
The following taxonomic description has been assembled from Allen (1992), Allen and Hall (2003), Correll and Correll (1972), Everitt et al. (2011), Gould (1975), Gould and Moran (1981), Hatch, Schuster, and Drawe (1999), Radford, Ahles, and Bell (1968), Rogers and...