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Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)
Grasses Around Las Vegas, Vegetation Around Las Vegas
Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)
Bermudagrass can spread in seasonal desert wetlands

General: Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) is an invasive turf grass commonly grown for lawns. The plant grows low with creeping runners (stolons) and upright stems with short, alternate leaves. The flowerhead is umbel-like, usually branching in 4 to 7 branchlets, with two rows of tiny flowers along each branchlet.

Bermudagrass is an uncommon component of vegetation in the Lower Sonoran (Creosote-Bursage Flats) and Upper Sonoran (Mojave Desert Scrub) life zones. Look for this species around the edges of town and at Corn Creek on the Desert National Wildlife Range in places where it might get some moisture during the warn season.

Family: Grass (Poaceae).

Other Names: quickgrass, couch grass, devil's grass.

Plant Form: Perennial turf grass with stems that grow from stolons.

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)
Inflorescence umbel-like; branching in 4 to 7 branchlets

Height: Stems and flowerheads to about 18 inches.

Stems: Stolons decumbent; stems upright.

Leaves: Alternate, linear; sheath open; ligule membranous or hairy; blade short (to about 3 inches), flat, and narrow.

Flowers: Inflorescence umbel-like; 4 to 7 branchlets. Two rows of tiny flowers along each branchlet, but growing only on one side of the branchlet.

Habitat: Lawns, weedy fields, roadsides, orchards, disturbed sites. This warm-season grass requires water during the warm season.

Elevation: To about 3,000 feet.

Distribution: Most of the US and parts of Canada and Mexico; native to Africa.

Comments: This species is an invasive weed in natural areas and is listed as a Noxious Weed in California and Utah. This species can be confused with the native Saltgrass, but the flowerheads are quite different.

Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)
Bermudagrass spreads to cover the ground
Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)
Bermudagrass partially covering the ground in a seasonal desert wetland
Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)
Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)
Leaves alternate
Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)
Leaf short
Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)
Inflorescence umbel-like; branching in 4 to 7 branchlets
Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon)
Inflorescence umbel-like; branching in 4 to 7 branchlets

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate. Names generally follow the USDA database.
copyright; Last updated 246023

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