Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (10/20/20):
Panicum repens
FAMILY
Poaceae
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Learn more about Torpedo Grass from the Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Panicum repens
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Panicum gouinii
INCLUDING
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Panicum repens
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Panicum gouinii
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Panicum repens
COMMON NAME:
Torpedo Grass
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Hitchcock, A.S. (rev. A. Chase). 1950 pnd_pare3_001_lvd
)
John D. Byrd, Mississippi State University, Bugwood.org bug_1391218
Month Unknown
)
Steve Hurst, USDA NRCS PLANTS Database, Bugwood.org bug_5308043
Month Unknown
)
Karen Brown, University of Florida, Bugwood.org bug_5344029
Month Unknown
Pointed tips of its extensive rhizomes (reaching 18'+) give this its name, per Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control.
)
Ann Murray, University of Florida, Bugwood.org bug_5349042
Month Unknown
Panicle open, 7-12cm long, its somewhat distant branches stiffly ascending, per Manual of the Grasses of the United States.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA (10/20/20):
Panicum repens
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Panicum repens
FAMILY
Poaceae
INCLUDING
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Panicum gouinii
INCLUDING
Manual of the Grasses of the US (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950)
Panicum repens
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Panicum gouinii
INCLUDING
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Panicum repens
1024
Grass, Sedge, or Rush; Terrestrial, wetland or aquatic (rooted)
Perennial
Non-native: Europe (probably)
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC
Uncommon in GA, rare northward
Look for it in ditches, roadbanks, disturbed coastal sands, in area where ship's ballast was deposited, per Weakley's Flora
Click here to see a more detailed map from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Herbarium,
or click here to see a map from SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
This plant is causing problems in natural areas outside its native range, according to authorities such as:
- Alabama Invasive Plant Council, 2012
- Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2006
- SC Exotic Pest Plant Council, 2014
- US Forest Service Southern Research Station
LEAVES:
Simple
Alternate, 2-ranked (plants lacking a rosette of overwintering basal leaves)
RHIZOMES? STOLONS?
Rhizomatous
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Inflorescence a panicle
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer/Fall
Grain
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Field Guide to Aquatic Plants of Alabama p27
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control p402
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States p697