International Journal of Horticulture, 2017, Vol.7, No. 11, 82-94
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marsh vole (
Microtus pennsylvanicus dukecampbelli
). Salt grass
is useful in the salt marshes, which provide
nesting grounds for birds, fish and larvae of many marine invertebrate animals.
3.9 St. Augustine grass (
Stenotaphrum secundatum
)
(Trenholm et al., 2006)
Description:
It is called as ‘Charlestongrass’, a coarse-textured, warm-season turfgrass that is suited to warm and
humid regions. This turfgrass is a native of the coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean. St.
Augustine grass is a stoloniferous species that develops roots at the nodes. It does not have rhizomes. Stems and
overlapping leaf sheaths are generally compressed. Leaf blades generally folded, abruptly contracted at the base,
rounded at the tip, and glabrous; ligule is modified to a short fringe of hairs; collar petiolate and the sheaths are
greatly compressed and ciliate along the margins. Inflorescence is borne as mostly terminal, some also axillary,
spike like racemes and spikelets imbedded in main axis. Each raceme is arranged with 1-3 lanceolate or ovate,
awnless and sessile spikelets. Fruits are caryopsis ovate to oblong, often failing to mature.
Varieties:
Standard cultivars: ‘Bitterblue’, ‘Classic’, ‘Deltashade’, Floratam’, ‘Palmetto’, ‘Raleigh’.
Dwarf cultivars: ‘Captiva’, ‘Delmar’, Sapphire’, ‘Seville’.
Importance and uses: As compared to other warm-season turfgrasses, St. Augustinegrass is highly shade tolerant
and can yield a high-quality turfgrass in shady areas. St. Augustinegrass is more salt tolerant, and is ideal for the
coastal areas. St. Augustinegrass establishes rapidly and easily and can be multiplied through sod, sprigs, or plugs.
It is commonly useful in a wide range of soils in home lawns and other landscaped areas. St. Augustinegrass is
excellent for areas having less care and little maintenance.
3.10 Zoysia grass (
Zoysia
spp.)
Description: Zoysiagrasses (
Zoysia
spp.) are introductions into the United States from Asia and are attractive turf
forming. There are number of species and cultivars of zoysiagrasses used for home lawns, including Japanese or
Korean Lawngrass, Meyer zoysiagrass, Matrella zoysiagrass or Manilagrass, Mascarenegrass, Emerald
zoysiagrass, Belaire zoysiagrass, El Toro zoysiagrass, and Cashmere zoysiagrass. These species and cultivars
differ greatly in their appearance, colour, growth habit and texture (Unruh et al., 2006;Samples and Sorochan,
2007).
Japanese or Korean Lawngrass (
Zoysia japonica
): This species of zoysiagrass is very coarse textured like tall
fescue, hairy, a light green colour, a relatively faster grower than other zoysiagrass species, and excellent cold
tolerant. However, this species of zoysiagrass is not good for a lawn. This Japanese Lawngrass is the only species
of zoysiagrass that can be propagated from seeds but it is likely to be damaged by the hunting billbug and
nematodes. Meyer Zoysiagrass (
Zoysia japonica
‘Meyer’): Meyer zoysiagrass is popular under the name Z-52 and
is sometimes called as either Z-52 or Amazoy. Meyer is an improved selection of
Zoysia japonica
and was
developed in 1951. It is dark green colour, medium leaf textured, and is the most cold tolerant of the zoysiagrasses;
however, it is less shade tolerant than Emerald zoysiagrass. The leaves are intermediate in breadth between that of
Korean Lawngrass and Emerald zoysiagrass.
Matrella Zoysiagrass or Manilagrass
(Zoysia matrella)
: Manilagrass resembles bermudagrass in colour, texture,
and quality and is ideal for a high-quality, high-maintenance lawn. This species of zoysiagrass is an introduction
from China and provides a finer and denser lawn than
Zoysia japonica
cultivars, but it has less cold tolerance.
Zoysia matrella
is very much
vulnerable to damage caused by nematodes. A selection of
Zoysia matrella,
tested as
FC 13521, was released by the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station at Auburn University and is now
commonly called as Matrella zoysiagrass. Matrella is a finer leaf textured and is more shade tolerant than Meyer
zoysiagrass but is less shade tolerant than Emerald zoysiagrass.
Mascarenegrass (
Zoysia tenuifolia
): This species of zoysiagrass is the finest-textured zoysiagrass having fair
wear tolerance but can develop huge thatch, making it a “puffy” appearance. It also is the least cold-tolerant
among zoysia grasses.
