Author | (Raddi) Kuhlmann | |
Distribution | Mostly Coastal Plain, including the Outer Banks/barrier islands; also scattered in the Sandhills and Piedmont. Absent from the mountains.
Coastal Plain and Piedmont, southeastern VA to southern FL, southeastern TX, and northern AR. | |
Abundance | Frequent on the landscape in the Coastal Plain; uncommon westward in the Piedmont to Catawba and Polk counties. Absent in the mountains and probably in much of the northwestern Piedmont. | |
Habitat | Dry roadsides, lawns, fields, sandy woodlands, openings in maritime forests. | |
Phenology | Flowering and fruiting June-October. | |
Identification | Common Carpetgrass is more-or-less mat-forming from slender horizontal rhizomes. The slender stems grow erect, 1-2 feet tall (where not mown), topped by an inflorescence of 2 ascending to spreading, slender branches, with spikelets tightly pressed to the branches. Sometimes also it has an additional inflorescence from a leaf axil lower down on the stem. Axonopus furcatus is very similar but it has spikelets that are 3.5-5.5 mm long (vs. 1.6-2.8 mm long in A. fissifolius). | |
Taxonomic Comments | A synonym is A. affinis Chase.
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Other Common Name(s) | Narrowleaf Carpetgrass, Caratao Grass, Louisiana Grass | |
State Rank | S4? [S4] | |
Global Rank | G5 | |
State Status | | |
US Status | | |
USACE-agcp | FACW link |
USACE-emp | FACW link |