A study on morphological variations of Cynodon dactylon in south China.

Eleven morphological characteristics of 36accessions of wild Cynodon dactylon from south China were observed and analyzed.The results showed that:1)Abundant morphological variation existed in accessions of C.dactylon.Their coefficients of variation were ranked as follows:leaf hairs(129.78%)turf height (38.18%)leaf length(37.61%)turf density(32.41%)internode length(21.80%)inflorescence length (18.44%)spikelet number(15.08%)internode diameter(14.49%)leaf width(14.05%)inflorescence branch number(9.45%)leaf color(7.64%).2)Morphological characteristics of C.dactylonhad significant relationships.Those with high turf had lighter color,more leaf hairs,longer and wider leaves,stronger stems, longer inflorescence,and more inflorescence branches and spikelets,whereas those with low turf had the opposite characteristics.3)With higher latitudes,C.dactylon had darker leaf color,stronger stems,fewer inflorescence branches and spikelets.It also became stronger,with higher turf,longer inflorescences but fewer spikelets as the longitude increased.4)Based on eleven morphological characteristics,accessions of wild C. dactylonfrom south China were clustered into three morphological types.