Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Monocots: Commelinids: Poales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Panicum repens
FAMILY
Poaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Check out EDDMapS.org to see where this has been reported.
Torpedo Grass grows from a creeping stem and rhizomes that root at nodes. The plant is bluish green (glaucescent). Read more at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Panicum repens
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Panicum repens
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25 (2003)
Panicum repens
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Panicum repens
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 (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007).
)
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 (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Panicum repens
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Panicum repens
FAMILY
Poaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Panicum repens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 25
Panicum repens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Panicum repens
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
Habitat: Ditches, roadbanks, disturbed coastal sands, in areas where ship's ballast was deposited, per Weakley's Flora
Non-native: Europe & Africa
Uncommon in GA, rare northward
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
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 (Lovell, 2007) p27
- Invasive Plants, Guide to Identification, Impacts and Control (Kaufman & Kaufman, 2007) p402
- Manual of the Grasses of the United States (Hitchcock & Chase, 1950) p697
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".