Paspalum floridanum Michx., Florida paspalum, is a native warm-season (C₄) perennial bunch grass. It is tall, ranging in height from 3 to 6 feet and spreads from short, thick rhizomes or seed. Leaf sheaths and leaf blades range in color from dark green to a bluish, chalky cast with short coarse hairs or hairless. The leaf blades are firm, flat or folded, approximately 3/8” wide and 20” long, with a dense tuft of long hairs immediately above the ligule. The seed heads have 2 to 5 branches with half-rounded smooth seeds that occur in pairs. Seeds are crowded along the branches. Florida paspalum sets seed in late summer that matures in late fall.

Paspalum difforme Le Conte, Paspalum floridanum Michx. var. glabratum Engelm. ex Vasey, Paspalum giganteum Baldw. ex Vasey, Paspalum glabratum (Engelm. ex Vasey) C. Mohr

Paspalum floridanum var. glabratum Engelm. ex Vasey:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Paspalum floridanum Michx.:
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Florida paspalum’s native range is from Pennsylvania and Delaware south to Florida, west to Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. It is adapted to most eastern US soils and is commonly found growing in low, moist, grassy areas, and wood openings.

For a current distribution map, please consult the Plant Profile page for this species on the PLANTS Website.

Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Rhizomes present, Rhizome short and compact, stems close, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Ste ms erect or ascending, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stem nodes bearded or hairy, Stem internodes solid or spongy, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems with inflorescence 1-2 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaf tips flexuous, drooping, blades thin, lax, soft, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly open, or loose, Leaf sheath smooth, glabrous, Leaf sheath hairy, hispid or prickly, Leaf sheath hairy at summit, throat, or collar, Leaf sheath and blade differentiated, Leaf blades linear, Leaf blades 2-10 mm wide, Leaf blades mostly flat, Leaf blades mostly glabrous, Leaf blades more or less hairy, Leaf blades scabrous, roughened, or wrinkled, Ligule present, Ligule an unfringed eciliate membrane, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence solitary, with 1 spike, fascicle, glomerule, head, or cluster per stem or culm, Inflorescen ce a panicle with narrowly racemose or spicate branches, Inflorescence with 2-10 branches, Inflorescence branches 1-sided, Rachis dilated, flat, central axis to which spikelets are attached, Rachis winged, Rachis angular, Flowers bisexual, Spikelets pedicellate, Spikelets dorsally compressed or terete, Spikelet less than 3 mm wide, Spikelets with 1 fertile floret, Spikelets with 2 florets, Spikelet with 1 fertile floret and 1-2 sterile florets, Spikelets paired at rachis nodes, Spikelets all alike and fertille, Spikelets bisexual, Spikelets disarticulating below the glumes, Spikelets secund, in rows on one side of rachis, Rachilla or pedicel glabrous, Glumes present, empty bracts, Glumes 1 clearly present, the other greatly reduced or absent, Glumes distinctly unequal, Glumes equal to or longer than adjacent lemma, Glume equal to or longer than spikelet, Glumes 3 nerved, Lemma similar in texture to glumes, Lemma 3 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma apex truncate, rounded, or obtu se, Lemma awnless, Lemma straight, Palea present, well developed, Palea shorter than lemma, Stamens 3, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis.

Type fragment for Paspalum macrospermum Fl?gg?
Catalog Number: US 80083
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Original publication and alleged type specimen examined
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): L. A. G. Bosc
Locality: South Carolina, United States, North America

Type fragment for Paspalum macrospermum Fl?gg?
Catalog Number: US 80082
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Original publication and alleged type specimen examined
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): L. A. G. Bosc
Locality: South Carolina, United States, North America

Isotype for Paspalum longicilium Nash
Catalog Number: US 221684
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Original publication and alleged type specimen examined
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): G. V. Nash
Year Collected: 1894
Locality: Vicinity of Eustis, Lake County., Lake, Florida, United States, North America

Isotype for Paspalum longicilium Nash
Catalog Number: US 824392
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Original publication and alleged type specimen examined
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): G. V. Nash
Year Collected: 1894
Locality: Vicinity of Eustis, Lake County., Lake, Florida, United States, North America

Type fragment for Paspalum floridanum Michx.
Catalog Number: US 2855337
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Original publication and alleged type specimen examined
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): A. Michaux
Locality: Florida, United States, North America

Isotype for Paspalum longicilium Nash
Catalog Number: US 207680
Collection: Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany
Verification Degree: Original publication and alleged type specimen examined
Preparation: Pressed specimen
Collector(s): G. V. Nash
Year Collected: 1894
Locality: Near Eustis., Lake, Florida, United States, North America

Florida paspalum can be seeded in a pure stand or in a mix of other species with a seeding depth of ¼” to ¾”. The smooth seed can be planted with most seed drills or broadcast seeded into a firm seedbed. Florida paspalum establishes readily from seed with little to no stratification. Seedling vigor is good and establishes well in the first growing season. General seeding recommendations are 6 to 8 pounds PLS per acre for most applications. Seeds are large and light with approximately 91,000 seeds/lb.

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N5 - Secure

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Please consult the PLANTS Web site and your State Department of Natural Resources for this plant’s current status (e.g. threatened or endangered species, state noxious status, and wetland indicator values).

No cultivars are currently available.

Follow normal native warm-season grass establishment procedures when planting Florida paspalum. Control weeds during the first growing season by mowing or spraying as often as necessary to prevent weeds from seeding out and to open up the seedbed to light. Florida paspalum establishes well even when mowed for weed control as low as a height of 4 to 6”. While Florida paspalum has vigorous growth, it is not invasive to surrounding fields. Established stands of Florida paspalum may be fertilized in accordance with soil tests as needed.

Livestock: Young leaves are palatable and nutritious becoming less so as plant matures.

Erosion Control: Paspalum is a versatile grass that readily grows on disturbed areas such as road ditches as well as on sandy or poorly drained sites. The bluish color of some foliage gives this species ornamental characteristics as well.

Wildlife: Quail, dove, and turkey all eat the large grain-like seeds.