brook crowngrass

Paspalum acuminatum Raddi

Brook crowngrass is an aquatic or partly aquatic perennial with soft, sprawling stems that root freely and branch as they grow. The stems rise out of the water mainly at their tips, beneath thin, flat leaves. It occurs in freshwater ponds and on wet open ground; the southwestern flora records scattered populations in the Texas Rio Grande Plains. Correll and Correll: Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southwestern United States, EPA archive

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Botanical name

Kew accepts Paspalum acuminatum Raddi as a species of Poaceae, matching the scientific name stored in the database. Kew Plants of the World Online: Paspalum acuminatum

Recognizing the plant

The leaves are lance-shaped and hairless, and the flowering branches have conspicuously broad, leaflike wings along their axes. Small, flattened spikelets sit singly in two rows. Each spikelet narrows to a pointed tip and measures about three to four millimetres long. The flowers have three small purple anthers. Kew Plants of the World Online: Paspalum acuminatum

Native range

Its native American range extends from the southern United States to Argentina. Flora of North America records it around lakes and ponds, in rice fields and in wet roadside ditches, showing that it occupies both natural water margins and wet places shaped by cultivation. Flora of North America: Paspalum acuminatum, reproduced by NEON Biorepository