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Taxon:  Sporobolus virginicus (L.) Kunth



Summary
Genus:
Sporobolus
Family:
Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)
Subfamily:
Chloridoideae
Tribe:
Zoysieae
Subtribe:
Sporobolinae
Nomen number:
35393
Place of publication:
Révis. gramin. 1:67. 1829
Verified:
02/03/2004 ARS Systematic Botanists.
Accessions:
16 (10  active, 8  available) in Australian Pastures Genebank.  (Map it)
Other conspecific taxa
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Basionym
Agrostis virginica L.

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Sporobolus virginicus (L.) Kunth var. minor F. M. Bailey
No images


Reference(s)
  1. Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581. 1996
  2. Adams, C. Flowering plants of Jamaica. 1972
  3. Arechavaleta, M. et al., eds. Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres. 2005
  4. Baaijens, G. J. & J. F. Veldkamp. 1991. Sporobolus (Gramineae) in Malesia. Blumea 35:445.
  5. Chinese Academy of Sciences. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae. 1959-
  6. Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. Flora of the Bahama archipelago. 1982
  7. Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. 1980-
  8. Davidse, G. et al., eds. Flora mesoamericana. 1994
  9. Exell, A. W. et al., eds. Flora zambesiaca. 1960-
  10. FNA Editorial Committee. Flora of North America. 1993-
  11. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
  12. Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. Flora of the Guianas. 1986-
  13. George, A. S., ed. Flora of Australia. 1980-
  14. Ghazanfar, S. A. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2. 1992
  15. Gibbs-Russell, G. E. et al. Grasses of southern Africa. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa vol. 58. 1990
  16. Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17. 1993
  17. Harling, G. & B. Sparre, eds. Flora of Ecuador. 1973-
  18. Hitchcock, A. S. Grasses of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 24:291-556. 1927
  19. Hitchcock, A. S. Manual of the grasses of the United States, ed. 2. 1950
  20. Holm, L. et al. A geographical atlas of world weeds. 1979
  21. Howard, R. Flora of the lesser Antilles. 1974-1989
  22. Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
  23. Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2. 1953-1972
  24. Koyama, T. Grasses of Japan and its neighboring regions. 1987
  25. Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia. 1993
  26. Lazarides, M. The tropical grasses of Southeast Asia. 1980
  27. Liogier, H. A. & L. F. Martorell. Flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands: a systematic synopsis. 1982
  28. McVaugh, R. Flora Novo-Galiciana. 1983-
  29. Missouri Botanical Garden. W³Tropicos (on-line resource).
  30. Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. Flora of [West] Pakistan. 1970-
  31. Peterson, P. M. et al. 2004. Sporobolus (Poaceae: Chloridoideae: Cynodonteae: Zoysieae: Sporobolinae) from northeastern México. Sida 21(3):584-586.
  32. Proctor, G. R. Flora of the Cayman Islands. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XI. 1984
  33. Rechinger, K. H., ed. Flora iranica. 1963-
  34. Renvoize, S. A. The grasses of Bahia. 1984
  35. Simon, B. K. & S. W. L. Jacobs. 1999. Revision of the genus Sporobolus (Poaceae, Chloridoideae) in Australia. Austral. Syst. Bot. 12:409-411.
  36. Smith, A. C. Flora vitiensis nova. 1979-1991
  37. Sreekumar, P. V. & V. J. Nair. Flora of Kerala - grasses. 1991
  38. Thulin, M., ed. Flora of Somalia. 1993-
  39. Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. Flora of tropical East Africa. 1952-
  40. Wagner, W. L. et al. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i. 1990
  41. Webster's third new international dictionary. 1961
Common names
English
beach dropseed –
jatopa –
marine couch –
sand couch –
seashore dropseed –
water couch –
Distribution
order_codeStatusContinentSubcontinentCountryStateNote
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaKenya  
1NativeAfricaEast Tropical AfricaTanzania  
1NativeAfricaMacaronesiaCape Verde  
1NativeAfricaNortheast Tropical AfricaSomalia  
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaMozambique  
1NativeAfricaSouth Tropical AfricaZimbabwe  
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaNamibia  
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaCape Province 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaKwaZulu-Natal 
1NativeAfricaSouthern AfricaSouth AfricaTransvaal 
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaBenin  
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaCote D'Ivoire  
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaGhana  
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaLiberia  
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaSenegal  
1NativeAfricaWest Tropical AfricaSierra Leone  
1NativeAfricaWestern Indian OceanMauritius  
1NativeAsia-TemperateArabian PeninsulaOman  
1NativeAsia-TemperateChinaChinaFujian 
1NativeAsia-TemperateChinaChinaGuangdong 
1NativeAsia-TemperateChinaChinaZhejiang 
1NativeAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaJapanRyukyu Islands 
1NativeAsia-TemperateEastern AsiaTaiwan  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentIndia  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentPakistan  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndian SubcontinentSri Lanka  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaCambodia  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaMyanmar  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaThailand  
1NativeAsia-TropicalIndo-ChinaVietnam  
1NativeAsia-TropicalMalesiaIndonesia  
1NativeAsia-TropicalMalesiaMalaysia  
1NativeAsia-TropicalMalesiaPapua New Guinea  
1NativeAsia-TropicalMalesiaPhilippines  
1NativeAustralasiaAustraliaAustraliaNew South Wales 
1NativeAustralasiaAustraliaAustraliaNorthern Territory 
1NativeAustralasiaAustraliaAustraliaQueensland 
1NativeAustralasiaAustraliaAustraliaSouth Australia 
1NativeAustralasiaAustraliaAustraliaTasmania 
1NativeAustralasiaAustraliaAustraliaVictoria 
1NativeAustralasiaAustraliaAustraliaWestern Australia 
1NativeNorthern AmericaNorthern MexicoMexicoBaja Sur 
1NativeNorthern AmericaNorthern MexicoMexicoNuevo Leon 
1NativeNorthern AmericaNorthern MexicoMexicoSonora 
1NativeNorthern AmericaNorthern MexicoMexicoTamaulipas 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouth-Central U.S.A.United StatesTexas 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSoutheastern U.S.A.United StatesAlabama 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSoutheastern U.S.A.United StatesFlorida 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSoutheastern U.S.A.United StatesGeorgia 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSoutheastern U.S.A.United StatesLouisiana 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSoutheastern U.S.A.United StatesMississippi 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSoutheastern U.S.A.United StatesNorth Carolina 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSoutheastern U.S.A.United StatesSouth Carolina 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoCampeche 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoChiapas 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoJalisco 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoQuintana Roo 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoTabasco 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoVeracruz 
1NativeNorthern AmericaSouthern MexicoMexicoYucatan 
1NativePacificNorth-Central PacificUnited StatesHawaii 
1NativePacificSouthwestern PacificFiji  
1NativePacificSouthwestern PacificNew Caledonia  
1NativeSouthern AmericaBrazilBrazil  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanAnguilla  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanAntigua and Barbuda  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanBahamas  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanCayman Islands  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanCuba  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanDominica  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanGrenada  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanGuadeloupe  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanHispaniola  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanJamaica  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanMartinique  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanNetherlands Antilles  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanPuerto Rico  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanSt. Kitts and Nevis  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanSt. Lucia  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanSt. Vincent and Grenadines  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanVirgin Islands (British)  
1NativeSouthern AmericaCaribbeanVirgin Islands (U.S.)  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaBelize  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaCosta Rica  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaEl Salvador  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaGuatemala  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaHonduras  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaNicaragua  
1NativeSouthern AmericaMesoamericaPanama  
1NativeSouthern AmericaNorthern South AmericaFrench Guiana  
1NativeSouthern AmericaNorthern South AmericaGuyana  
1NativeSouthern AmericaNorthern South AmericaSuriname  
1NativeSouthern AmericaNorthern South AmericaVenezuela  
1NativeSouthern AmericaSouthern South AmericaChile  
1NativeSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaColombia  
1NativeSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaEcuador  
1NativeSouthern AmericaWestern South AmericaPeru  
Native
Africa
  • EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania
  • MACARONESIA: Cape Verde
  • NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Somalia
  • SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Mozambique, Zimbabwe
  • SOUTHERN AFRICA: Namibia, South Africa [Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal]
  • WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone
  • WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Mauritius
Asia-Temperate
  • ARABIAN PENINSULA: Oman
  • CHINA: China [Fujian, Guangdong, Zhejiang]
  • EASTERN ASIA: Japan [Ryukyu Islands], Taiwan
Asia-Tropical
  • INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan
  • INDO-CHINA: Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
  • MALESIA: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea
Australasia
  • AUSTRALIA: Australia [New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia]
Northern America
  • NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Baja Sur, Nuevo Leon, Sonora, Tamaulipas]
  • SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
  • SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina]
  • SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Chiapas, Jalisco, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz, Yucatan]
Pacific
  • NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
  • SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Fiji, New Caledonia
Southern America
  • BRAZIL: Brazil
  • CARIBBEAN: Hispaniola, Anguilla, Netherlands Antilles, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Martinique, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Virgin Islands (British), Virgin Islands (U.S.)
  • MESOAMERICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador
  • NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
  • SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Chile
  • WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Economic Uses
UsageTypeNoteReference
Animal foodfodder Baaijens, G. J. & J. F. Veldkamp. 1991. Sporobolus (Gramineae) in Malesia. Blumea 35:445.
Environmentalerosion control Baaijens, G. J. & J. F. Veldkamp. 1991. Sporobolus (Gramineae) in Malesia. Blumea 35:445.
Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2025. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://apg.pir.sa.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=35393. Accessed 17 July 2025.


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