Taxon: Paspalum dilatatum Poir.

Summary

Genus:

Paspalum

Family:

Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)

Subfamily:

Panicoideae

Tribe:

Paspaleae

Subtribe:

Paspalinae

Nomen number:

26843

Place of publication:

Encycl. 5:35. 1804

Verified:

05/11/1992 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

522 (231 active, 212 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Paspalum dilatatum Poir. subsp. dilatatum (1 active accession[s])
Paspalum dilatatum Poir. subsp. flavescens Roseng. et al. (1 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Images (1 total. Click on image for more.)

Links

Spikelets and/or florets – Seed ID Workshop image, from Department of Horticulture and Crop Science, Ohio State University

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. 2012. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Catasús Guerra, L. J. 2002. Las gramíneas (Poaceae) de Cuba, II. Cavanillesia Altera 3:1-163.
CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
Figueiredo, E. & G. F. Smith. 2008. Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Gibbs-Russell, G. E. et al. 1990. Grasses of southern Africa. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa vol. 58
Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas. Note: cultivated
Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
Kellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa Note: poisonous
Koning, R. de & M. S. M. Sosef. 1985. The Malesian species of Paspalum L. (Gramineae). Blumea 30:293-294.
Koyama, T. 1987. Grasses of Japan and its neighboring regions
Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Lazarides, M. 1980. The tropical grasses of Southeast Asia
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Mejía-Saulés, M. T. & P. Dávila A. 1992. Gramíneas Útiles de México. Cuad. Inst. Biol. 16 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Distrito Federal, Mexico.
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Rayment, J. et al. 2022. Understanding patterns and pathways of exotic perennial grass invasion in South-eastern Australian grassy communities. Diversity & Distrib. 28:1136-1150. DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13520.
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
't Mannetje, L. & R. M. Jones, eds. 1992. Forages. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 4:178.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 1994. Catálogo de la familia Poaceae en la República Argentina. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 47 Note: with two subspecies
Zuloaga, F. O. 1974. El genero Paspalum (Gramineae) en la provincia de Jujuy. Bol. Soc. Argent. Bot. 16:62.
2018. Mid-Atlantic invasive plant species (on-line resource)

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	caterpillar grass	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	dallis grass	1	Wiersema, J. H. & B. León. 1999. World economic plants: a standard reference CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL.
English	water grass	1	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French	herbe de Dallis	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
French	millet bâtard	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German	Dallisgras	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Italian	paspalo dilatato	2	International Seed Testing Association. 1982. A Multilingual Glossary of Common Plant-Names 1. Field crops, grasses and vegetables, ed. 2.
Japanese Rōmaji	shima-suzume-no-hie	2	Koyama, T. 1987. Grasses of Japan and its neighboring regions
Spanish	grama de agua	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	pasto dallis	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Transcribed Chinese	mao hua que bai	2	Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 1994. Catálogo de la familia Poaceae en la República Argentina. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 47 Note: with two subspecies
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Paraguay
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Uruguay
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Bolivia
4	Naturalized	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Azores		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Portugal	Madeira Islands		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Africa	Macaronesia	Spain	Canarias		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Africa	Northern Africa	Algeria			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Africa	Northern Africa	Egypt			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Africa	Northern Africa	Morocco			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Angola			Figueiredo, E. & G. F. Smith. 2008. Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zambia			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	Eswatini			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	Lesotho			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa			Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
4	Naturalized	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Ghana			Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
4	Naturalized	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Mauritius			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Armenia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Azerbaijan			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Georgia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Caucasus	Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia	Ciscaucasia		Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	China	China			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan			Koyama, T. 1987. Grasses of Japan and its neighboring regions
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan			Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Cyprus			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Israel			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Jordan			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Temperate	Western Asia	Turkey			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India			Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Sri Lanka			Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Indochina			Lazarides, M. 1980. The tropical grasses of Southeast Asia
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Philippines			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	Solomon Islands			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia			Rayment, J. et al. 2022. Understanding patterns and pathways of exotic perennial grass invasion in South-eastern Australian grassy communities. Diversity & Distrib. 28:1136-1150. DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13520.
4	Naturalized	Australasia	New Zealand	New Zealand
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Croatia			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Greece		incl. Crete	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southeastern Europe	Italy		incl. Sardinia, Sicily	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southwestern Europe	France		incl. Corsica	Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Europe	Southwestern Europe	Portugal			Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Northern America		United States			Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Chihuahua		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Nuevo León		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
4	Naturalized	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	United States Minor Outlying Islands		Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	Fiji			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	New Caledonia			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	Niue			Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	United States	American Samoa		Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Caribbean	West Indies			Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. 2012. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	El Salvador			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
4	Naturalized	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.

Native
Southern America

BRAZIL: Brazil
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay

Naturalized
Africa

MACARONESIA: Spain [Canarias], Portugal [Azores, Madeira Islands]
NORTHERN AFRICA: Algeria, Egypt, Morocco
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Tanzania
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Ghana
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Angola, Zambia
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Lesotho, Eswatini, South Africa
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Mauritius

Asia-Temperate

WESTERN ASIA: Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Turkey
CAUCASUS: Russian Federation-Ciscaucasia [Ciscaucasia], Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
CHINA: China
EASTERN ASIA: Japan, Taiwan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Sri Lanka
PAPUASIA: Solomon Islands
INDO-CHINA: Indochina
MALESIA: Philippines

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia
NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand

Europe

SOUTHEASTERN EUROPE: Greece (incl. Crete), Croatia, Italy (incl. Sardinia, Sicily)
SOUTHWESTERN EUROPE: France (incl. Corsica), Portugal

Northern America

NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chihuahua, Nuevo León]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chiapas, Jalisco, México, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave]
REGION: United States

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii, United States Minor Outlying Islands]
SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Fiji, New Caledonia, Niue, United States [American Samoa]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: West Indies
CENTRAL AMERICA: Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador

Reference(s)

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. 2012. Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
Euro+Med Editorial Committee. Euro+Med Plantbase: the information resource for Euro-Mediterranean plant diversity (on-line resource).
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
Figueiredo, E. & G. F. Smith. 2008. Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Germishuizen, G. & N. L. Meyer, eds. 2003. Plants of southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14 National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, South Africa.
Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry. Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk (PIER): plant threats to Pacific ecosystems (on-line resource).
Keay, R. W. J. & F. N. Hepper. 1953-1972. Flora of west tropical Africa, ed. 2.
Koyama, T. 1987. Grasses of Japan and its neighboring regions
Lazarides, M. 1980. The tropical grasses of Southeast Asia
Rayment, J. et al. 2022. Understanding patterns and pathways of exotic perennial grass invasion in South-eastern Australian grassy communities. Diversity & Distrib. 28:1136-1150. DOI: 10.1111/ddi.13520.
Shukla, U. 1996. Grasses of north-eastern India
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. 1994-. Flora of China (English edition).
Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 1994. Catálogo de la familia Poaceae en la República Argentina. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 47 Note: with two subspecies

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Animal food	fodder		Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Animal food	forage		Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Environmental	erosion control		't Mannetje, L. & R. M. Jones, eds. 1992. Forages. In: Faridah Hanum, I. & L. J. G. van der Maesen, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia (PROSEA) 4:178.
Environmental	erosion control		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Environmental	erosion control		Gibbs-Russell, G. E. et al. 1990. Grasses of southern Africa. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa vol. 58
Vertebrate poisons	mammals	including 'Paraguay'	Kellerman, T. S. et al. 1988. Plant poisonings and mycotoxicoses of livestock in Southern Africa Note: poisonous
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988) Note: four books on weeds worldwide in scope
Weed	seed contaminant	potential	Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=26843. Accessed 11 May 2026.