Pastures for Florida


grass is best suited to the muck soils of the Everglades and
to the heavier textured soils of western Florida. It is more
hardy than carpet grass and furnishes considerable feed
during both winter and summer. Although this grass is
primarily used for grazing, the excess summer feed makes
good hay.
 Bermuda Grass (Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.).-Common
Bermuda grass (Fig. 27) is a rapidly spreading perennial having
both underground and aboveground creeping stems. The plants
reach a height of
4 to 20 inches,
depending upon
soil fertility. The
leaf blades are
narrow and 1 to
4 or more inches
long. The seed- ,
stalks commonly
have 4 to 5
branches which
are 1 to 2 1/2. /
inches in length.V / -/-
The seeds are
small (less than
1/8 inch long) and ]
grayish to yel- \ \
lowish in color.
 Common Ber- FIG. 27.-COMMON BERMUDA GRASS.
muda is best It has surface runners and underground stems.
adapted to well The leaves are narrow and the seedstalks have 4 or 5
drained and fer- branches.
tile soils which are well supplied with lime and complete fertilizer
high in nitrogen. It is particularly adapted to heavier soils.
It often spreads into cultivated areas and is difficult to eradicate.
Pastures of common Bermuda may be established by planted
seed, stems or underground stems. Ten pounds of seed per acre
generally are sufficient to produce good stands.
 St. Lucie is a Bermuda grass established and spread by sur-
face runners (Fig. 28). This variety of Bermuda has been used
on the muck and sandy muck soils underlaid with lime on the
lower East Coast of Florida. It has no underground stems.
 Some of the improved varieties of Bermuda developed by