Cynodon dactylon
Common name
Bermuda grass
Family
Poaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Grasses
NVS code
The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.
CYNDAC
Habitat
Terrestrial.
Features
Mat-forming grass to 55 cm tall, with long rhizomes and stolons. Leaf blades up to 9cm long, 1-3mm wide (sometimes wider), grey-green, slightly hairy. Leaves are held on upright culm to 50cm tall. The flower head has 3-7 branches coming out of the same point, each branch is up to 6cm long, and has 2 rows of green or purplish spikelets.
Similar taxa
Creeping stems, branched (digitate) flower heads. Similar inflorescence to Digitaria species, but the foliage on Cynodon dactylon is more robust and stiff.
Year naturalised
1846
Origin
Pantropical
Reason For Introduction
Agricultural
Life Cycle Comments
Perennial