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:

10 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

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

Basionym
Agrostis virginica L.

Autonym(s)
Sporobolus virginicus (L.) Kunth var. virginicus

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Sporobolus tremulus Kunth
Sporobolus virginicus (L.) Kunth var. minor F. M. Bailey

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
Arechavaleta, M. et al., eds. 2005. Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Baaijens, G. J. & J. F. Veldkamp. 1991. Sporobolus (Gramineae) in Malesia. Blumea 35:393-458.
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago.
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
Ghazanfar, S. A. 1992. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2
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.
Hansen, A. & P. Sunding. 1993. Flora of Macaronesia: checklist of vascular plants, ed. 4. Sommerfeltia vol. 17.
Harling, G. & B. Sparre, eds. 1973-. Flora of Ecuador.
Hitchcock, A. S. 1927. Grasses of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 24:291-556.
Hitchcock, A. S. 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States, ed. 2.
Holm, L. et al. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (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. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Lazarides, M. 1980. The tropical grasses of Southeast Asia
Liogier, H. A. & L. F. Martorell. 1982. Flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands: a systematic synopsis.
McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
Missouri Botanical Garden. W³Tropicos (on-line resource).
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Peterson, P. M. et al. 2004. Sporobolus (Poaceae: Chloridoideae: Cynodonteae: Zoysieae: Sporobolinae) from northeastern México. Sida 21(3):584-586.
Proctor, G. R. 1984. Flora of the Cayman Islands. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XI.
Rechinger, K. H., ed. 1963-. Flora iranica.
Renvoize, S. A. 1984. The grasses of Bahia
Simon, B. K. & S. W. L. Jacobs. 1999. Revision of the genus Sporobolus (Poaceae, Chloridoideae) in Australia. Austral. Syst. Bot. 12:409-411.
Smith, A. C. 1979-1991. Flora vitiensis nova.
Sreekumar, P. V. & V. J. Nair. 1991. Flora of Kerala - grasses.
Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Wagner, W. L. et al. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i
1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	beach dropseed	1	Baaijens, G. J. & J. F. Veldkamp. 1991. Sporobolus (Gramineae) in Malesia. Blumea 35:393-458.
English	jatopa	1	Baaijens, G. J. & J. F. Veldkamp. 1991. Sporobolus (Gramineae) in Malesia. Blumea 35:393-458.
English	marine couch	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	sand couch	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	seashore dropseed	1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
English	water couch	1	1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Kenya			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	East Tropical Africa	Tanzania			Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
1	Native	Africa	Macaronesia	Cabo Verde			Arechavaleta, M. et al., eds. 2005. Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
1	Native	Africa	Northeast Tropical Africa	Somalia			Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Mozambique			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	South Tropical Africa	Zimbabwe			Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	Namibia
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Cape Province
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal
1	Native	Africa	Southern Africa	South Africa	Transvaal	n.e.
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Benin
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Côte D'Ivoire
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Ghana
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Liberia
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Senegal
1	Native	Africa	West Tropical Africa	Sierra Leone
1	Native	Africa	Western Indian Ocean	Mauritius
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Arabian Peninsula	Oman			Ghazanfar, S. A. 1992. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Fujian Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Guangdong Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	China	China	Zhejiang Sheng		Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Japan	Ryukyu Islands		Koyama, T. 1987. Grasses of Japan and its neighboring regions
1	Native	Asia-Temperate	Eastern Asia	Taiwan
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	India
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Pakistan			Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indian Subcontinent	Sri Lanka			Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Cambodia
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Myanmar
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Thailand
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Indo-China	Vietnam
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Indonesia
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Malaysia
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Malesia	Philippines
1	Native	Asia-Tropical	Papuasia	Papua New Guinea
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	New South Wales		George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Northern Territory		George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Queensland		George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	South Australia		George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Tasmania		George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Victoria		George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
1	Native	Australasia	Australia	Australia	Western Australia		George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Baja California Sur		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Nuevo León		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Alabama	s.?	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida	http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/main.asp?plantID=885	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Georgia	s.e.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Louisiana	s.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Mississippi	s.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	North Carolina		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	South Carolina		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Campeche		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Quintana Roo		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Yucatán		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Wagner, W. L. et al. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i
1	Native	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	Fiji			Smith, A. C. 1979-1991. Flora vitiensis nova.
1	Native	Pacific	Southwestern Pacific	New Caledonia
1	Native	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Anguilla			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Antigua and Barbuda			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Bahamas			Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Cayman Islands			Proctor, G. R. 1984. Flora of the Cayman Islands. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XI.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Cuba
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Dominica			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Grenada			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Guadeloupe			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Hispaniola
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Jamaica			Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Martinique			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Netherlands Antilles
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	St. Kitts and Nevis			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	St. Lucia			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	St. Vincent and Grenadines			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Virgin Islands, U.S.		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Virgin Islands (British)			Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Belize			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	El Salvador
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Honduras			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Panama			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	French Guiana			Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana			Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Suriname			Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Peru

Native
Africa

MACARONESIA: Cabo Verde
NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Somalia
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA: Kenya, Tanzania
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA: Benin, Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Senegal, Sierra Leone
SOUTH TROPICAL AFRICA: Mozambique, Zimbabwe
SOUTHERN AFRICA: Namibia, South Africa [Cape Province, KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal (n.e.)]
WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Mauritius

Asia-Temperate

ARABIAN PENINSULA: Oman
CHINA: China [Fujian Sheng, Guangdong Sheng, Zhejiang Sheng]
EASTERN ASIA: Japan [Ryukyu Islands], Taiwan

Asia-Tropical

INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan
PAPUASIA: Papua New Guinea
INDO-CHINA: Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam
MALESIA: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia [Tasmania, New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, Western Australia, Northern Territory]

Northern America

SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Alabama (s.?), Florida (http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/main.asp?plantID=885), Georgia (s.e.), Louisiana (s.), Mississippi (s.), North Carolina, South Carolina]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Baja California Sur, Nuevo León, Sonora, Tamaulipas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Campeche, Chiapas, Jalisco, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán]

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]
SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Fiji, New Caledonia

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Hispaniola, Anguilla, Netherlands Antilles, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Cuba, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Martinique, United States [Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, U.S.], St. Vincent and Grenadines, Virgin Islands (British)
CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
BRAZIL: Brazil
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Chile

Reference(s)

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. et al. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78:1-581.
Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
Arechavaleta, M. et al., eds. 2005. Lista preliminar de especies silvestres de Cabo Verde: hongos, plantas y animales terrestres
Chinese Academy of Sciences. 1959-. Flora reipublicae popularis sinicae.
Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago.
Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. 1980-. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon.
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
Exell, A. W. et al., eds. 1960-. Flora zambesiaca.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
George, A. S., ed. 1980-. Flora of Australia.
Ghazanfar, S. A. 1992. An annotated catalogue of the vascular plants of Oman. Scripta Botanica Belgica 2
Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas.
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles.
Koyama, T. 1987. Grasses of Japan and its neighboring regions
McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
Nasir, E. & S. I. Ali, eds. 1970-. Flora of [West] Pakistan.
Proctor, G. R. 1984. Flora of the Cayman Islands. Kew Bulletin Additional Series XI.
Smith, A. C. 1979-1991. Flora vitiensis nova.
Thulin, M., ed. 1993-. Flora of Somalia.
Turrill, W. B. et al., eds. 1952-. Flora of tropical East Africa.
Wagner, W. L. et al. 1990. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawai'i

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Reference
Animal food	fodder	Baaijens, G. J. & J. F. Veldkamp. 1991. Sporobolus (Gramineae) in Malesia. Blumea 35:393-458.
Environmental	erosion control	Lazarides, M. & B. Hince. 1993. CSIRO Handbook of Economic Plants of Australia
Environmental	erosion control	Baaijens, G. J. & J. F. Veldkamp. 1991. Sporobolus (Gramineae) in Malesia. Blumea 35:393-458.

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=35393. Accessed 15 April 2026.