![]() ![]() A halophyte is a type of plant that has special adaptations that allow it to flourish in a salty environment. They just cannot persist on their own without careful management. ![]() The native paspalum may be considered invasive in some instances, but I have never seen any of the fine textured “hybrids”of today escape man’s cultivation. There is a big difference between the native, coarse textured paspalum and today’s current cultivars used for sports turf applications. In some places such as Hawaii it was initially viewed as a weed, but gradually some courses opted to allow the paspalum to dominate because it was so well suited to the environment that it out-competed the Bermuda and other species. Paspalum has been on golf courses in different parts of the world for more than 50 years, and its evolution into a sports turf grass has been speeded up by intensive maintenance and low mowing regimes. This is possibly due to grazing by animals, just as some of the early Bermuda grass varieties adapted on the plains of Africa. It is very difficult to prove absolute origin, but in its coarse native form this unique grass species is very adaptable to many regions and varying climates of the world.įrom the original native paspalum, it is believed that varieties of the species adapted to a lower, or more dwarf characteristic. It is also highly likely that other natural avenues such as ocean currents carried the grass stolons thousands of miles to other continents. ![]() It subsequently came to rest on the salty shores of South Carolina and Georgia where the slaves were unloaded. Possibly it was carried to the United States when coarser textured paspalum was used as “bedding” in ships during the transportation of slaves from Africa. Seashore paspalum is native to the warm tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. Not everyone is convinced of its use and this article looks at what paspalum can and cannot do. Seashore paspalum requires similar growing conditions and provides comparable playing surfaces to Bermuda grass and is increasingly being considered for use on golf courses instead of Bermuda and the more heat tolerant cool season grasses. It is well suited to many parts of the Mediterranean, especially those which remain warm in the winter. A species of warm-season grass called Seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum) is starting to become much more widely used in various parts of the world, due mainly to its exceptional salt tolerance and drought resistance, its ability to grow well with poor quality water, such as grey water, and the fact that it requires roughly half the amount of nitrogen fertilizer as Bermuda. It is a common misconception that all grasses involve similar levels of maintenance, but that is not the case. Environmental issues are becoming more and more of a concern for new golf projects throughout the world, especially in many Southern European countries where there are many competing demands for fresh water as well as concerns over water quality and stewardship of the environment. ![]()
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