Taxon: Tripsacum dactyloides (L.) L.

Summary

Genus:

Tripsacum

Section:

Tripsacum

Family:

Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)

Subfamily:

Panicoideae

Tribe:

Andropogoneae

Subtribe:

Tripsacinae

Nomen number:

40489

Place of publication:

Syst. nat. ed. 10, 2:1261. 1759

Verified:

03/04/2009 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

176 (81 active, 44 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Tripsacum dactyloides (L.) L. var. dactyloides (0 active accession[s])
Tripsacum dactyloides (L.) L. var. hispidum (Hitchc.) de Wet & J. R. Harlan (1 active accession[s])
Tripsacum dactyloides (L.) L. var. meridonale de Wet & Timothy (84 active accession[s])
Tripsacum dactyloides (L.) L. var. mexicanum de Wet & J. R. Harlan (0 active accession[s])

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

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

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)
Alderson, J. & W. C. Sharp. 1995. Grass varieties in the United States, U.S.D.A. Agric. Handb. 170, rev. ed. CRC Press. Note: Revised version of AH 170
Bergquist, R. R. 1981. Transfer from Tripsacum dactyloides to corn of a major gene locus conditioning resistance to Puccinia sorghi. Phytopathology 71:518-520.
Blakey, C. A. et al. 2001. Apomixis in Tripsacum: Comparative mapping of a multigene phenomenon. Genome 44:222-230.
Blakey, C. A. et al. 2007. Tripsacum genetics: from observations along a river to molecular genomics. Maydica 52:81-99.
Boggan, J. et al. 1997. Checklist of the plants of the Guianas, ed. 2
Bomblies, K. & J. F. Doebley. 2005. Molecular evolution of FLORICAULA/LEAFY orthologs in the Andropogoneae (Poaceae). Molec. Biol. Evol. 22:1082-1094.
Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago.
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
de Wet, J. M. J. et al. 1981. Systematics of South American Tripsacum (Gramineae). Amer. J. Bot. 68:269-276.
de Wet, J. M. J. et al. 1982. Systematics of Tripsacum dactyloides (Gramineae). Amer. J. Bot. 69:1251-57.
Englert, J. M. et al. 1999-. USDA-NRCS Improved conservation plant materials released by NRCS and cooperators
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Gleason, H. A. & A. Cronquist. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, ed. 2
Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas.
Herrera-Arrieta, Y. 2001. Las Gramíneus de Durango
Hitchcock, A. S. 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States, ed. 2.
Leblanc, O. et al. 2009. Seed development and inheritance studies in apomictic maize-Tripsacum hybrids reveal barriers for the transfer of apomixis into sexual crops. Int. J. Developm. Biol. 53:585-596. Note: this study examined hybrids of Tripsacum dactyloides
León (J. S. Sauget) & Alain (E. E. Liogier). 1946-1969. Flora de Cuba
Magee, D. W. & H. E. Ahles. 1999. Flora of the Northeast. A manual of the vascular flora of New England and adjacent New York.
Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
McGregor, R. L. et al. (The Great Plains Flora Association). 1986. Flora of the Great Plains.
McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
Mejía-Saulés, M. T. & P. Dávila A. 1992. Gramíneas Útiles de México. Cuad. Inst. Biol. 16 Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Distrito Federal, Mexico. 261.
Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Schnabel, R. R. 1999. Improving water quality using native grasses. In: Ritchie, J. C. et al., eds., Proceedings of the Second Eastern Native Grass Symposium, November 17-19, 1999. Baltimore, Maryland 46-54.
Voss, E. 1972-. Michigan flora.
Wilkes, G. 2004. Corn, strange and marvelous: but is a definitive origin known? In: Smith, C. W. et al., eds., Corn: origin, history, technology, and production 3-63.
Wofford, B. E. Database of Tennessee vascular plants (on-line resource).
Wursirika, R. et al. 2011. Chapter 11. Zea. In: Kole, C., ed., Wild crop relatives: genomic and breeding resources, cereals 477. Note: mentions
Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:624.
1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	eastern gama grass	1	Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
English	gama grass	1	1961. Webster's third new international dictionary.
French	herbe grama	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
German	Gamagras	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Portuguese (Brazil)	capim-gigante	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	macillo	2	Markle, G. M. et al., eds. 1998. Food and feed crops of the United States, ed. 2
Spanish	pasto Guatemala	2	Rehm, S. 1994. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants
Spanish	zacate maicero	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. 261.
Swedish	gamagräs	2	Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson. 2012. Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource)

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Illinois		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Iowa		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Kansas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Missouri		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Nebraska	s.e.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Oklahoma		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	North-Central U.S.A.	United States	Wisconsin		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Connecticut	http://neatlas.huh.harvard.edu/Neatlas1/Poac-S-Z.html	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Indiana	s.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Massachusetts	http://neatlas.huh.harvard.edu/Neatlas1/Poac-S-Z.html	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New Jersey		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	New York		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Ohio		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Pennsylvania		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	Rhode Island	http://neatlas.huh.harvard.edu/Neatlas1/Poac-S-Z.html	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northeastern U.S.A.	United States	West Virginia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Coahuila de Zaragoza		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Durango		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	San Luis Potosí		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
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		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Arkansas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Delaware		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=3607	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Georgia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Kentucky		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Louisiana		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Maryland		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Mississippi		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	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Tennessee		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Virginia		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Aguascalientes		Herrera-Arrieta, Y. 2001. Las Gramíneus de Durango
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Ciudad de México		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos		McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Nayarit		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Puebla		Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Bahamas			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:624.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Cuba			León (J. S. Sauget) & Alain (E. E. Liogier). 1946-1969. Flora de Cuba
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Hispaniola		possibly
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Belize			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:624.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:624.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:624.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Honduras			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:624.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Panama			de Wet, J. M. J. et al. 1982. Systematics of Tripsacum dactyloides (Gramineae). Amer. J. Bot. 69:1251-57.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	French Guiana			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:624.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:624.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Suriname			Boggan, J. et al. 1997. Checklist of the plants of the Guianas, ed. 2
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela			de Wet, J. M. J. et al. 1982. Systematics of Tripsacum dactyloides (Gramineae). Amer. J. Bot. 69:1251-57.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:624.
2	Cultivated					also cult.	Hitchcock, A. S. 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States, ed. 2.

Native
Northern America

NORTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Connecticut (http://neatlas.huh.harvard.edu/Neatlas1/Poac-S-Z.html), Indiana (s.), Massachusetts (http://neatlas.huh.harvard.edu/Neatlas1/Poac-S-Z.html), New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island (http://neatlas.huh.harvard.edu/Neatlas1/Poac-S-Z.html), West Virginia]
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska (s.e.), Oklahoma, Wisconsin]
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida (http://www.plantatlas.usf.edu/main.asp?plantID=3607), Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Coahuila de Zaragoza, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Tamaulipas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Aguascalientes, Chiapas, Ciudad de México, Guerrero, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Hispaniola (possibly), Bahamas, Cuba
CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Colombia

Cultivated (also cult.)

Reference(s)

Boggan, J. et al. 1997. Checklist of the plants of the Guianas, ed. 2
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
de Wet, J. M. J. et al. 1982. Systematics of Tripsacum dactyloides (Gramineae). Amer. J. Bot. 69:1251-57.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Herrera-Arrieta, Y. 2001. Las Gramíneus de Durango
Hitchcock, A. S. 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States, ed. 2.
León (J. S. Sauget) & Alain (E. E. Liogier). 1946-1969. Flora de Cuba
McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana.
Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:624.

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		Englert, J. M. et al. 1999-. USDA-NRCS Improved conservation plant materials released by NRCS and cooperators
Environmental	erosion control		Schnabel, R. R. 1999. Improving water quality using native grasses. In: Ritchie, J. C. et al., eds., Proceedings of the Second Eastern Native Grass Symposium, November 17-19, 1999. Baltimore, Maryland 46-54.
Environmental	ornamental	for xeriscape landscaping	Englert, J. M. et al. 1999-. USDA-NRCS Improved conservation plant materials released by NRCS and cooperators
Environmental	revegetator		Alderson, J. & W. C. Sharp. 1995. Grass varieties in the United States, U.S.D.A. Agric. Handb. 170, rev. ed. CRC Press. Note: Revised version of AH 170
Environmental	wildlife habitat		Alderson, J. & W. C. Sharp. 1995. Grass varieties in the United States, U.S.D.A. Agric. Handb. 170, rev. ed. CRC Press. Note: Revised version of AH 170

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=40489. Accessed 13 May 2026.