Grass in a tropical park
I went for a walk in a park yesterday. In the first 30 meters, I saw four grasses. These are common grasses to find in parks in Southeast Asia. I took a photo of each grass from above, with a 1 yen coin as a size reference, and also a photo of the typical inflorescence of each species. With a little practice, one can identify these grasses with ease by looking at the foliage and inflorescence.
These grasses are:
- manilagrass (Zoysia matrella ’nuan noi')
- tropical carpetgrass (Axonopus compressus)
- golden false beardgrass (Chrysopogon aciculatus)
- sour paspalum (Paspalum conjugatum)
manilagrass
This is manilagrass. Well, mostly manilagrass. There is a plant of tropical carpetgrass in there too.
![](/media/zm_above_huec2fc971ebc43368c3184911158ddf56_796919_33015d25d893e17825e0e2a076e9c262.webp)
In Southeast Asia, one can usually find the inflorescence in unmown and well-irrigated manilagrass at any time of year.
![](/media/zm_seed_hu8b6786a112973530122185616ddaff28_288389_6d1552eede45cadbd7e081885623fc58.webp)
tropical carpetgrass
This is tropical carpetgrass. The first place I would look for tropical carpetgrass is under trees. This grass is prolific in shade. Tropical carpetgrass has shiny leaves.
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This is the typical inflorescence of tropical carpetgrass.
![](/media/ac_seed_hud66a5f99fe1a0cccd112870e8555a206_152561_b6cd915896a361dd8843caf8ff3097b5.webp)
golden false beardgrass
Chrysopogon aciculatus has shiny leaves, like tropical carpetgrass, but the leaves are narrower and shorter.
![](/media/ca_above_hu07df3e952a85c72a23f10389d82d8599_661540_dde37e93ce16e2d8ccc422242428e342.webp)
This grass is also recognized easily by its distinctive inflorescence.
![](/media/ca_seed_huaad83f73a3925f27a5d0e3398db2a08e_211504_2f13679b977f05b8565abfbda6e80ecc.webp)
sour paspalum
The leaf width of sour paspalum is similar to tropical carpetgrass, but sour paspalum leaves are pale yellow by comparison, and not shiny.
![](/media/pc_above_hu1487ca0ac18ce6b5abf8ed8ff6df89ec_650036_077df0faf456a34e128a8f8f1819b8ff.webp)
The inflorescence of sour paspalum is also distinct.
![](/media/pc_seed_hu5a4c779100749c6b3af9a7c7573ecf50_179513_ea85c467dc28afd00e77770395cfe2b5.webp)