Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walter) O. Kuntze

Spice Detail In the field

Family: GRAMINEAE (POACEAE)

Genus: Stenotaphrum

Province distribution: Balearic Islands.

Distribution in the islands: Mallorca. Menorca.

General distribution (Phytogeography): Pantropical

Flowering time: JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Life-forms: Geophyte.

Habitats: Beaches and dunes, sandy soils. Cultivated fields, path and road sides, disturbed zones. Rocky coastlines. Garden plants. Cultivated specie and sometimes subespontaneous.

Characteristics: This Gramineae is used in gardens for lawns and is very drought and salt resistant. Looks like a couchgrass, but is much larger, stiffer and course, with the leaf collar very compact. Can be easily recognized when in flower, as the central axis of the spike is very wide (at time sits looks deformed) and the spikelets are found in irregular groups atop one another, solitary or in groups of twos and threes. Can be found grow naturalizated in sand dunes. Flowers during the summer.