Paspalum distichum Linnaeus (1759: 855)

Faried, Ahmed M., 2018, A taxonomic synopsis of the genus Paspalum (Poaceae) in Egypt, including the first record of Paspalum vaginatum for the flora, Phytotaxa 336 (2), pp. 171-180 : 174

Paspalum distichum Linnaeus (1759: 855) .

Lectotype (designated by Guédès 1976):— JAMAICA. P. Browne s.n. (LINN-75.9).

= Digitaria paspalodes Michaux (1803: 46) . ≡ Paspalum paspalodes ( Michaux 1803: 46) Scribner (1894: 29) . Type:— UNITED STATES. South Carolina: in pascuis aridis juxta Carolinae, Michaux s.n. (holotype P01726003!).

= Paspalum digitaria Poir. in Lamarck (1816: 316). Type:— UNITED STATES. South Carolina: Charleston, without collector (B 10 0365535!).

Distribution:— Introduced in Egypt, where known from the Nile region, the oases of the Western Desert, the Mediterranean coastal strip as well as Sinai Peninsula. In the Middle East, also introduced to Libya, Iraq, Turkey, Palestine, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Native to North America and South America ( Wilkin 2014). First reported in Egypt by Muschler (1912) as shown in Table 1. Paspalum distichum was introduced to Egypt from the New World, and rapidly dispersed throughout the W. Mediterranean Desert. It is also naturalized in the Egyptian cultivated lands ( Hejny & Kosinova 1977).

Representative specimens examined:— EGYPT. The Mediterranean coastal strip: Alexandria: canal bank, 15 July 1935, I. R. Shabetal 5069 ( CAIM) ; Mariut, Masraf Khorshid , 28 August 1928, M. Mustafa & Y. Sabet s.n. ( CAI) ; Idku-Rosetta road, 31º18’57” N, 30º 22’20.9” E, 21 October 1999, L. Boulos and R. El-Gharib 19090 (Loutfy Boulos Herbarium) ; The oases of the Western Desert: Bahariya Oasis , El-Heiz , Ain Gomaa , 12 September 1979, M. Abd El-Ghani 2066 ( CAI) ; Ismaeliya: El-Qantara El-Gjarbia , 20 August 1981, Alaa Amer 262 ( CAI) ; Helwan: El-Tebbin , 10 August 1976, H. Helmy 21 ( CAIM) ; El-Marg , 9 June 1926, N.D. Simpson 3972 ( CAIM) ; Agrochemical research station at Kaha , 25 September 1973, A. Abbas and M. Mokhtar 297 ( CAIM) ; The Nile region: Giza, near Mariutya canal, 24 May 1986, L. Triest 504 ( CAI, CAIM) ; Cairo University: Faculty of Agriculture , irrigation canal, 18 May 2002, L. Boulos 20014 (Loutfy Boulos Herbarium, ASTU) ; Daqahlia: El-Sirw , on the way to the pumping station, 10 November 1968, V. Täckholm et al. s.n. ( CAI) ; Faiyum, Beni Saleh , 11 September 1982, M. Abd El-Ghani 3723 ( CAI) ; Assiut, Garden of Assiut University old campus, 4 June 2016, A. Faried and A. Amro s.n. ( ASTU) ; Sohag, Ballana , 23 December 1963, L. Boulos s.n. ( CAI) .