Vasey Grass

Paspalum urvillei

This grass was named in honor of the French explorer and botanist Jules Dumont d'Urville, who collected plants during his 19th-century voyages.

Scientific name

Paspalum urvillei

Taxonomy

Plantae › Tracheophyta › Liliopsida › Poales › Poaceae › Paspalum

IUCN Red List status

Least Concern

Population trend

increasing

Biome

grassland

Habitat

Moist disturbed areas, roadsides, ditches, pastures, and riverbanks.

Diet

Photosynthetic (sunlight, water, carbon dioxide, and soil minerals)

Range

South America, Southern United States, Australia, South Africa, Southern Asia

Size

1.0 to 2.5 meters tall, forming dense tufts.

Lifespan

Perennial (5 to 10 years via regenerating root crowns)

Active

diurnal

Threats

Intensive herbicide application and urban development, though it is highly adaptable and often considered a weed.

Safe to approach?

Vasey Grass is entirely harmless to humans. It can be safely approached and touched. However, like many grasses, its wind-blown pollen can trigger seasonal allergies (hay fever) in sensitive individuals, and the coarse leaves may cause mild skin itching upon direct contact.

Paspalum urvillei is a species of grass known by the common name Vasey's grass , or Vaseygrass . It is native to South America, and it is known in parts of North America as an introduced species. It is a noxious weed where it has been introduced in Hawaii and New Caledonia. It grows well in disturbed habitat, often in moist areas. This is a rhizomatous perennial grass which may reach 2 meters tall. The leaves are up...

Photo: 葉子, CC0, via iNaturalist

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