St. Augustine grass , or Stenotaphrum secundatum Kuntze , is Florida ’s most popular lawn pasture , harmonize to the University of Florida ’s IFAS Extension service . agriculturist and homeowners throughout the world have propagate this warm - weather turfgrass for two centuries , according to the Texas Cooperative Extension . Today , St. Augustine grass covers lawns throughout the Gulf Coast and California , as well as the Caribbean , Africa and Pacific island regions .

History

St. Augustine eatage is a native flora of the Gulf of Mexico , the West Indies and western Africa , writes Richard F. Duble , turfgrass specialist for the Texas Cooperative Extension . Before 1800 , explorers mentioned finding the smoke along the Atlantic coasts in Africa , Hawaii and North and South America . Duble also reports that St. Augustine smoke was found in Australia and New Zealand as early as 1840 .

Time Frame

accord to the University of Hawaii ’s Cooperative Extension Service , St. Augustine grass was introduce to the islands around 1816 . St. Augustine grass showed up on Florida lawn in the 1890s and in California in the 1920s , according to Duble . occupant of the Natal coastal region of South Africa start planting St. Augustine grass as a lawn gage in 1900 , followed by Rhodesia , the Congo and Senegal in Africa , as well as Australia and California . Some inland raiser – unremarkably near warm , coastal region – have also planted St. Augustine grass for pasturage and lawn .

Varieties

agriculturist have developed various cultivars of St. Augustine grass since the 1930s , consort to IFAS . They include a slow - growing " dwarf " cultivar called Amerishade that requires less frequent mowing . Another cultivar , Classic , can tolerate cold , making it a candidate for lawns in northern Florida and other cooler clime . In 1973 , the University of Florida and Texas A&M University develop " Floratam , " which is now the most popular St. Augustine forage cultivar in Florida .

Growth

Historically , grower have used vegetal agency to propagate St. Augustine grass , allot to Duble . These methods include the purpose of plug , turf and runner , or shoot , rather than seeds . According to the University of Hawaii , St. Augustine grass bring about seeds only on occasion since the plant life does not flower often .

Function

In addition to its main use as a lawn grass , St. Augustine grass also has arise into a worthful germ of forage for livestock , harmonize to the University of Hawaii . In Hawaii and other tropic and semitropic regions , plantation and orchard growers have planted St. Augustine grass as cover crop for macadamia , banana , coffee and other crop . Growers also use the grass as " life sod " to help master sens and ameliorate soil .

References

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