Axonopus compressus(Sw.) P.Beauv.

broadleaf carpetgrass

WFO wfo-0000852795 Accepted WFO 2026-06 8 photographs CC BY / CC BY-SA

Plate 1 figs. a–h · 8 separate observations

Axonopus compressus, photographed by Jenny Saito
fig. a Jenny Saito, CC BY 4.0 / 2022-04-16 / obs. 188402441
Axonopus compressus, photographed by Kevin Faccenda
fig. b Kevin Faccenda, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 182532952
Axonopus compressus, photographed by Navaneeth Sini George
fig. c Navaneeth Sini George, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 174946443
Axonopus compressus, photographed by Jacy Chen
fig. d Jacy Chen, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 151645275
Axonopus compressus, photographed by 高山田鼠
fig. e 高山田鼠, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 123769158
Axonopus compressus, photographed by hyshbioteacher
fig. f hyshbioteacher, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 119930332
Axonopus compressus, photographed by Ong Jyh Seng
fig. g Ong Jyh Seng, CC BY-SA 4.0 / obs. 103112573
Axonopus compressus, photographed by Tyler Bishop
fig. h Tyler Bishop, CC BY 4.0 / obs. 76769851

Every figure is a research-grade observation under CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA, rehosted with the photographer’s name, the licence and the observation it came from. Photographs under a NonCommercial licence are excluded from this site and are never stored, which costs us a great many pictures and is not negotiable.

Native range 51 botanical countries

Regions where Axonopus compressus is native: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mexico Central, Mexico Gulf, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, Mexico Southeast, Mexico Southwest, South Carolina, Texas, Argentina Northeast, Argentina Northwest, Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil North, Brazil Northeast, Brazil South, Brazil Southeast, Brazil West-Central, Cayman Is., Central American Pacific Is., Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Galápagos, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Is., Nicaragua, Panamá, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Trinidad-Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela, Venezuelan Antilles, Windward Is. AlabamaArkansasFloridaGeorgiaLouisianaMexico CentralMexico GulfMexico NortheastMexico NorthwestMexico SoutheastMexico SouthwestSouth CarolinaTexasArgentina NortheastArgentina NorthwestBelizeBoliviaBrazil NorthBrazil NortheastBrazil SouthBrazil SoutheastBrazil West-CentralCentral American Pacific Is.ColombiaCosta RicaCubaDominican RepublicEcuadorEl SalvadorFrench GuianaGuatemalaGuyanaHaitiHondurasJamaicaNicaraguaPanamáParaguayPeruPuerto RicoSurinameTrinidad-TobagoUruguayVenezuela BahamasBermudaCayman Is.GalápagosLeeward Is.Venezuelan AntillesWindward Is.
Native distribution of Axonopus compressus, after Kew’s World Checklist of Vascular Plants. Introduced, extinct and doubtful records are excluded, so this is where the plant is from, not everywhere it now grows. Regions too small to draw at this scale are marked with a dot.
RegionTDWG codeContinent
Argentina Northeast AGE SOUTHERN AMERICA
Argentina Northwest AGW
Bahamas BAH
Belize BLZ
Bermuda BER
Bolivia BOL
Brazil North BZN
Brazil Northeast BZE
Brazil South BZS
Brazil Southeast BZL
Brazil West-Central BZC
Cayman Is. CAY
Central American Pacific Is. CPI
Colombia CLM
Costa Rica COS
Cuba CUB
Dominican Republic DOM
Ecuador ECU
El Salvador ELS
French Guiana FRG
Galápagos GAL
Guatemala GUA
Guyana GUY
Haiti HAI
Honduras HON
Jamaica JAM
Leeward Is. LEE
Nicaragua NIC
Panamá PAN
Paraguay PAR
Peru PER
Puerto Rico PUE
Suriname SUR
Trinidad-Tobago TRT
Uruguay URU
Venezuela VEN
Venezuelan Antilles VNA
Windward Is. WIN
Alabama ALA NORTHERN AMERICA
Arkansas ARK
Florida FLA
Georgia GEO
Louisiana LOU
Mexico Central MXC
Mexico Gulf MXG
Mexico Northeast MXE
Mexico Northwest MXN
Mexico Southeast MXT
Mexico Southwest MXS
South Carolina SCA
Texas TEX

Region boundaries approximated from Natural Earth (public domain) and mapped to TDWG World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) level-3 botanical countries (Brummitt 2001). Indicative, not the official WGSRPD geometry.

Where it actually grows measured, from 1,779 observations

Condition 5th percentile Median 95th percentile
Coldest month, mean daily low 11.1 °C 14.8 °C 24.4 °C
Warmest month, mean daily high 25.7 °C 30.0 °C 32.5 °C
Annual rainfall 1,019 mm 2,383 mm 4,005 mm
Rainfall in the driest quarter 57 mm 145 mm 635 mm

It is not found anywhere that gets close to freezing. This is not care advice and it is not a forecast. It is a measurement: we sampled the climate at every one of the 1,779 research-grade observations of Axonopus compressus that carry a coordinate, and this is the range those places actually span. The 5th and 95th percentiles are used rather than the minimum and maximum, because a single cultivated specimen in a heated conservatory should not widen a tropical plant's range to the Arctic.

This is not a hardiness zone. A USDA zone is the average annual extreme minimum temperature. The figure above is the mean daily minimum of the coldest month, which is a different quantity and is typically far warmer. Reading one as the other would place a plant several zones too warm, so we do not publish a hardiness zone, because we do not have one.

Also published as 42 synonyms

A synonym is not an error. It is a record of botanists disagreeing, in print, about where this plant belongs. Each of these was somebody’s considered answer.

  • Agrostis compressa (Sw.) Poir.
  • Anastrophus compressus Schltdl.
  • Anastrophus platycaulis (Poir.) Nash
  • Anastrophus platycaulmis Schltdl. ex B.D.Jacks.
  • Anastrophus platyculmis Schlecht.
  • Anastrophus platyculmus (Thouars ex Nees) Schltdl. ex B.D.Jacks.
  • Axonopus amplifolius Chase ex C.E.Hubb.
  • Axonopus arsenei Swallen
  • Axonopus brevipedunculatus (Gledhill) Gledhill
  • Axonopus compressus subsp. brevipedunculatus Gledhill
  • Axonopus compressus var. australis G.A.Black
  • Axonopus compressus var. compressus
  • Axonopus compressus var. itirapinensis G.A.Black
  • Axonopus compressus var. jesuiticus Araujo
  • Axonopus compressus var. macropodius (Steud.) G.A.Black
  • Axonopus elongatus Swallen
  • Axonopus jesuiticus (Araujo) Valls
  • Axonopus kisantuensis Vanderyst
  • Axonopus multipes Swallen
  • Axonopus rosengurttii G.A.Black
  • Digitaria domingensis Desv. ex Kunth
  • Digitaria platicaulis (Poir.) Desv.
  • Digitaria uniflora Salzm. ex Steud.
  • Echinochloa compressa (P.Beauv.) Roberty

and 18 more.

Sourcesevery claim on this page

  1. World Flora Online Plant List. accepted name, authority, classification. CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-12.
  2. iNaturalist. photographs and flowering annotations, CC0 / CC BY / CC BY-SA only. per photograph. Retrieved 2026-06-27.
  3. Wikidata. common name (P1843), joined on the World Flora Online identifier (P7715). CC0. Retrieved 2026-07-13.
  4. Kew, World Checklist of Vascular Plants (WCVP v16). native distribution by TDWG level-3 botanical country, and life form. CC BY 3.0. Retrieved 2026-06-04.

We publish what we can source and we say so when we cannot. This page has no care advice and no toxicity claim, because we do not yet have those from a source we can cite.