Dichondra

Dichondra
Dichondra
Dichondra micrantha
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Asterids
Order: Solanales
Family: Convolvulaceae
Genus: Dichondra
Species

See text

Dichondra is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae. They are prostrate perennial herbaceous plants, with creeping stems which take root readily at the leaf nodes. The flowers are white, greenish or yellowish, 2-3 mm diameter.

The number of species is disputed, with some authors dividing the genus regionally into about ten separate species, while others accept only two species. The species listed below are native to tropical and warm temperate regions around the world.

Species
  • Dichondra carolinensis A. Michaux
  • Dichondra micrantha Urb.
  • Dichondra repens J.R.Forst. & G.Forst.
  • Dichondra argentea a celadon- or silver-colored cultivar

Cultivation and uses

Dichondra micrantha was very popular in southern California in the 1950s and 1960s as a grass substitute for lawns. Each "grass" leaf consists of a stem with a nearly circular or kidney-shaped horizontal leaf top, between 8-25 mm in diameter with a 20-35 mm petiole. A healthy lawn consisting entirely of Dichondra is fairly difficult to start, grow and maintain. In some places in the United States Dichondra is considered a weed. Yet in other places grasses are considered weeds: residents with dichondra lawns fear that their neighbors' Bermuda grass would penetrate their lawns and squeeze out the dichondra.

References

  • Everitt, J.H.; Lonard, R.L., Little, C.R. (2007). Weeds in South Texas and Northern Mexico. Lubbock: Texas Tech University Press.  ISBN 0-89672-614-2

External links