Panicum obtusum Kunth in H.B.K.
Whole plant
Family : Poaceae
Longevity : Perennial
Origin : Native
Season : Warm
Vine Mesquite can be found growing in sandy, clayey, or gravelly soils of the South Texas Plains and Edwards Plateau. It tends to form large stands and reaches a height of 8 to 24 inches. It can have stolons several feet long with swollen nodes. The leaves have a hairy collar and are 2 to 8 inches long and 1/16 to 5/16 inch wide. Vine Mesquite reproduces through tillers, stolons, rhizomes and seeds. The roundish seeds lie close to the main stem of the seed head. The seeds are eaten by quail and mourning doves and the leaves are eaten by white-tailed deer, jackrabbits and ground squirrels. Vine Mesquite is also good cover for upland game birds. It can withstand heavy grazing and is a good forage for livestock. It blooms from April to October.
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