Panicum paludosum Roxb.

Taxonomy: Plantae > Tracheophyta > Liliopsida > Poales > Poaceae > Panicum > P. paludosum

Description: Aquatic or semi-aquatic perennials. Culms 30-80 cm long, spongy below, erect or geniculate and rooting at the lower nodes; nodes glabrous. Leaves 5-21 x 0.5-1 cm, linear-lanceolate, base subcordate, margins scaberulous, apex acute; sheaths to 8 cm long; ligules a ring of white hairs. Panicles 7-18 cm long, spreading, effuse; branches to 8 cm long, opposite or alternate. Spikelets 3-4.5 mm long, elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate. Lower glume c. 1 mm long, orbicular. Upper glume c. 3 x 1 mm, ovate, acute. Lower floret usually barren. Upper floret bisexual. First lemma c. 3 x 1 mm, elliptic-lanceolate, acuminate. Palea c. 2 mm long, oblong or absent. Second lemma c. 2.5 x 1 mm , elliptic, acute, subcoriaceous. Palea c. 2 x 1 mm, elliptic, subcoriaceous, auricled at base. Stamens 3; anthers orange. Ovary ovate; stigma pink. Grains c. 1 mm long, oblong.

Flowering and fruiting: March- December

Uses: Used as a forage for grazing or cutting. It is regarded as an excellent native forage in South-East Asia, being both nutritious and palatable. It is also used to control erosion on sandy soils, but it can be a serious weed in crops

Cultivation: Cultivated, Wild

References

http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org

https://indiabiodiversity.org