Vascular Plants of North Carolina
Account for Big Carpetgrass - Axonopus furcatus   (Fluegge) A.S. Hitchcock
Members of Poaceae:
Members of Axonopus with account distribution info or public map:
Google Images
Section 5 » Order Cyperales » Family Poaceae
Show/Hide Synonym
Author(Fluegge) A.S. Hitchcock
DistributionCoastal Plain, westward in the Piedmont to counties on the SC border (to Gaston County); apparently not in the Sandhills.

MD to FL, TX, and AR; Coastal Plain and Piedmont.
AbundanceUncommon to rare in Piedmont; frequent in Coastal Plain.
HabitatRoadsides, sandy woodlands, lake- and impoundment shores, margin of pond within maritime forest (Dare County). Quite varied habitats, yet nonetheless not at all numerous despite such broad habitats occupied.
PhenologyFlowering and fruiting July-October.
IdentificationBig Carpetgrass is more-or-less mat-forming from slender horizontal rhizomes. The stems are erect, 1-3 feet tall (where not mown), topped by an inflorescence of 2 (-4) ascending to spreading, narrow branches, with the spikelets tightly pressed to the branches. Sometimes it also has an additional inflorescence from a leaf axil lower down on the stem. Axonopus fissifolius is very similar, but the spikelets of Big Carpetgrass are 3.5-5.5 mm long (vs. 1.6-2.8 mm long in A. fissifolius). Paspalum vaginatum superficially is very similar, but its leaves are arranged in 2 ranks (vs. several ranks in Big Carpetgrass) and its spikelets are only 2.5-3 mm long.
Taxonomic CommentsNone

Other Common Name(s)None
State RankS3
Global RankG5
State Status
US Status
USACE-agcpOBL link
USACE-empFACW link
County Map - click on a county to view source of record.
Photo Gallery
photographercommentsphoto_linkcountyobsType
B.A. SorrieSame data. Purple-brown tinged basal leaves. RichmondPhoto_natural
B.A. SorrieSandhills Game Land, shore of Broadacre Lake, Aug 2019. RichmondPhoto_natural
Select a source
AllHerbaria
Individual
Website
Select an occurrence type
AllCollection_naturalPhoto_naturalSight_natural