Broadleaf Signalgrass

Broadleaf Signalgrass

Urochloa platyphylla (Nash) R. Webster
(formerly Brachiaria platyphylla)

Poaceae (Grass Family)

▲ ▼ mature plants

▲ ▼ inflorescence

▲ ▼ stems and leaves, showing nodes, ligule and collar regions, and wrinkling on only one side of leaf blade

Broadleaf Signalgrass:

spreading summer annual, with horizontal stem bases and up-turned flowering branches
stems may root at the nodes
leaf sheaths may be green to reddish, and are hairy
leaf blades are rolled in the bud and often have one side of the leaf blade “crinkled" and the other smooth
leaf blades are broad (1/4-1/2" wide) and not really long (1.5-6") and stand out from the flowering stems
leaves may be hairless or have hairs along edge of leaf; ligule is a very short, fringed membrane-like structure
inflorescence has 2-6 stiff, upright, branches, with florets/seeds somewhat flattened and held close to the panicle branches
common in sandy soils, southern crops; common in southeast Missouri