Greek kynodon – dog’s tooth; a translation of chiendent, the French name of this grass.
Perennial stoloniferous or rhizomatous sward-forming perennial with flowering shoots at the nodes. Leaf blade folded or rolled in bud, flat, rough-edged. Ligule membranous, ciliate. Inflorescence of 2-6 spikes, digitate, spatheless. Spikelets sessile, laterally flattened, overlapping in 2 rows on the underside of the axis, flattened and with 1 bisexual floret. Glumes with the 2 lower ones 1 nerved, the upper 1-3 nerved. Lemma ridged, awnless. Palea entire to apically notched, awnless, 2-nerved.
A complex genus of morphologically similar and genetically introgressing species. Cultivated, often weedy.
Seed and division of stolons.
Turf and pasture grass (occasionally associated with cyanide poisoning). Sacred to the Hindus. Hybrid couch C. dactylon × C. transvaalensis, South African Couch, is a popular couch grass used for putting and bowling greens in warm season areas. C. dactylon can be a significant weed species and other species occur in native pasture.
Inflorescence windmill-like; spikelets on one side of each branch; glumes shorter than the floret.
10 species from tropical and warm areas. 3 species in Australia, 2 naturalised, the common C. dactylon var. pulchellus treated as native.
de Wet & Harlan (1970).
Source: (2005). Poaceae. In: . Horticultural Flora of South-eastern Australia. Volume 5. Flowering plants. Monocotyledons. The identification of garden and cultivated plants. University of New South Wales Press.