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Carpetgrass

Axonopus fissifolius (aks-ON-oh-pus fis-sih-FOH-lee-us)

Family: Poaceae Native Groundcover

Common Carpetgrass is native to the warm parts of North, Central, and South America, including North Carolina. It is a warm-season, stoloniferous perennial grass found in sandy pine forests, fields, lawns, and roadsides. It has a spreading habit and is soil compaction and heat tolerant, but not drought tolerant. This plant spreads by stolons and seeds. It prefers wet soils and is commonly found growing in ditches. It will grow in poor soils in sun or partial shade. In NC it is found in the coastal and Piedmont areas. It often goes dormant in winter in NC. It is often used as a lawn grass in recreational areas, a cover crop or in pastures. See the NC State Extension TurfFiles entry for Common Carpetgrass for more information.

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 43 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 5 - Groundcover Optimal soil pH Acid (<6.0)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Ground Cover; Native Plant; Ornamental Grasses and Sedges; Turfgrass
Life cycle
Perennial
USDA zones
7a, 7b, 8a, 8b, 9a, 9b, 10a, 10b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil pH
Acid (<6.0)
Soil drainage
Moist
NC region
Coastal; Piedmont
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
5 - Groundcover
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Erect; Spreading
Leaf color
Green; Red/Burgundy
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf shape
Linear
Leaf margin
Entire
Leaf size
> 6 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
1-inch long narrow green leaves are flat or folded with fine hairs on the margin near the base. May have a reddish cast at maturity.
Flower form
Raceme
Flower detail
2-4 spike-like racemes are 1.5-4 inches long in June-October
Bloom time
Fall; Summer
Fruit color
Brown/Copper
Fruit type
Caryopsis
Fruit detail
Fruits are available July-November.
Stem color
Green
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Native
Origin
Central and southeastern U.S.A., Tropical/ Subtropical America
Wildlife value
Leaves and seeds are forage for animals.
Attracts
Small Mammals; Songbirds
Food & Medicine
Harvest time
Fall; Summer
Fruit type
Caryopsis
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Lawn; Meadow; Recreational Play Area; Woodland
Landscape theme
Native Garden
Garden tags
#NC native #native ornamental grass #fields #mammals #Coastal FACW #Piedmont Mountains FACW #food source herbage #recreational areas #spreading #Audubon #lawn #pasture #moist soil #wet soils tolerant #meadow #woodland
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Compaction; Heat; Humidity; Poor Soil
Propagation
Seed

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.