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Cynodon dactylon

species of plant

Specimen drawers, botanical folios and brass scientific instruments under study light
Science and natureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 15, 2026
Entity authorityQ208705
Source-derived summary

Cynodon dactylon, commonly known as Bermuda grass or as couch grass in Australia and New Zealand, is a warm season grass found worldwide in warm and tropical climates. It is native to Europe, Africa, Australia, and much of Asia and has been introduced to the Americas.

Despite its common name, C. dactylon is not native to Bermuda but is an abundant invasive species there. In Bermuda, it has been known as crabgrass, also a name for Digitaria sanguinalis.

Interspecific hybrids occur naturally through cross-pollination, but cultivars are also developed by selecting individual plants with desirable traits from seeded or vegetatively propagated stands. These cultivars are typically triploids with three sets of chromosomes.

Description

The blades are grey-green in color and short, usually 2–15 cm (0.79–5.91 in) long with rough edges. The erect stems can grow 1–30 cm (0.39–11.81 in) tall. The stems are slightly flattened, often white or green, and occasionally tinged purple in colour.

The seed heads are produced in a cluster of two to six spikes together at the top of the stem, each spike 2–5 cm (0.79–1.97 in) long.

Editorial summary

“Cynodon dactylon” enters the record as species of plant. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Cynodon, dactylon and species can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA sound reference starting point where classification, measurement and the date of the underlying evidence remain visible. The current 182-word lead offers orientation but no explicit four-digit date, so chronology should not be assumed. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Cynodon, dactylon and species.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Cynodon dactylon” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Cynodon, dactylon and species provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 15, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q208705. The Library of Congress control number is sh85013361. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank.

Critical limits

Current terminology should not be projected backward without checking the classification used when the underlying evidence was created. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Check terminology, classification and the date of the cited evidence. Scientific names and technical consensus can change while older records retain historical value.

Best used for
  • Current terminology
  • Classification context
  • Finding cited technical literature
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Primary datasets, specimen catalogues, standards bodies and the most recent peer-reviewed literature.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Cynodon dactylon”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Cynodon dactylon primary sources, Cynodon dactylon archive and Cynodon research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Cynodon dactylon”?
  2. Which observation, specimen, dataset or publication supports the account?
  3. Has classification or technical consensus changed since the cited source?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Cynodon dactylon” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.