Paspalum wettsteinii seed
LATIN NAME: Paspalum wettsteinii
COMMON NAME: Wettstein Paspalum
The Wettstein paspalum tufts the clumps of the broad, dark green blades, the loose, arching panicles of the small, rounded spikelets, and the whole plant carries the soft, meadow look of the warm-season grass. The sturdy, creeping rootstock holds the soil, the flowering stems rise above the leaves through the summer, and the seed heads keep their clean, open shape well into the autumn. It is one of the useful grasses of the damp, open ground, drawing the eye with the fine, airy texture and giving the pasture and the bank a steady, forgiving cover. The plant likes the sun, the moisture, and the ordinary, well-drained soil.
Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology
Agronomists in the warm regions treat the paspalums as quiet workhorses of the pasture, and the Wettstein species keeps its place in their trials. Seed dormancy, establishment rates and the way the grass binds the sloping ground are the usual questions, with the cytologists counting the chromosomes to map the relations among the species and the breeders selecting for the denser sward and the steadier regrowth. In the laboratory the seed passes through the scarification and the cold treatments before the field plots take over.
Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications
On the land, this grass pulls its weight in several ways at once. The dense roots filter the runoff and hold the banks of the ditches and the verges, the seed heads feed the finches and the sparrows through the late summer, and the grazing stock take it readily alongside the legumes. The gardeners use the clumps for the natural, meadow-style plantings, where the soft texture and the forgiving nature make it one of the easier warm-season grasses to live with.
The Wettstein paspalum seeds germinate easily in a fine, gritty loam kept moist and warm. The blades appear in the tight little tufts, and the young grass grows on fast once the roots settle. Thin the seedlings to give each tuft its room, and keep the tray in the bright spot through the summer. The young plants transplant well into the open ground, and they spread into the soft, dense clumps that hold the bank. A light trim in the late autumn keeps the tufts tidy for the next season.
To grow the Wettstein paspalum from seed, sow the small, chaffy seeds thinly over the surface of the shallow flat of fine, gritty loam, keep the flat in the warm, bright spot and mist gently. The seedlings push through within a couple of weeks, and they grow on fast. Settle the young clumps into the open, sunny ground, and they will tuft and spread through the summer.