Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Sporobolus virginicus (L.) Kunth

hierba de orilla, pasto de playa, paja de playa, matojo de playa, beach dropseed, sea grass, seashore dropseed

A herbaceous and dense coastal plant that can grow up to 40 centímetres tall.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Plantae

Phylum
Magnoliophyta

Class
Liliopsida (= Monocotyledoneae)

Order
Cyperales

Family
Poaceae

Genus
Sporobolus

Species
virginicus

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Native

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

References

  • Andersson, N.J. (1855) Om Galápagos Öarnes Vegetation. Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps Akademien Handl., Stockholm: 61-256.
  • Andersson, N.J. (1861-1862) Ueber Die Vegetation der Galapagos-Inseln Linnaea 31: 571-631
  • Andersson, N.J. (1858) Flora of the Galápagos Islands (translated from Swedish). Kongliga Svenska Vetenskaps-Academien Botanik 1: 3-34
  • Atkinson, R. Guézou, A. & Jaramillo, P. (2009) Siémbrame en tu jardín - Plantas nativas para jardines en Galápagos. Fundación Charles Darwin, Puerto Ayora, Galápagos, Ecuador, 151 pp.
  • Christophersen, E. (1932) A Collection of Plants from the Galápagos Islands. Nyt Mag. Naturvidenskaberne 70: 67-95.
  • Gerecke, R. Peck, S.B. & Pehofer, H.E. (1995) The invertebrate fauna of the inland waters of the Galápagos Archipelago (Ecuador) - a limnological and zoogeographical summary. Arch. Hydrobiol./ Suppl. 107(2): 113-147.
  • Itow, S. (1997) List of Plant Specimens collected in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Natural Science, 38 (1): 53-144.
  • Jaramillo, P. (1998) Distribución Espacial de la Vegetación Vascular y Dispersión de Especies Introducidas dentro del Parque Nacional Galápagos. Tesis de Doctorado en Biología, Universidad Central del Ecuador. Especialización ECOLOGIA DE POBLACIONES.
  • Peterson, P.M. Boechat, S.C. & Veldkamp, J.F. (2001) Sporobolus. In Catalogue of New World Grasses (Poaceae): II. Subfamily Chloridoideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 41: 200-219.
  • Reeder, J.R. Reeder, C.G. (1971) Gramineae. Grass family. in Flora of the Galápagos Islands. 823–892.
  • Robinson, B.L. (1902) Flora of the Galapagos Islands. Papers from the Hopkins-Stanford Expedition to the Galapgaos Islands. Proc. Amer. Acad. 38(4): 78-270.
  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Missouri Botanical Garden (eds.) (2013) The Plant List, Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 1st January).
  • Stewart, A. (1911) A botanical survey of the Galápagos Islands. Proc. Calif. Acad. Sci. 4th Series, 1: 7-288.
  • Svenson, H.K. (1935) Plants of the Astor Expedition, 1930 (Galapagos and Cocos Islands). Am. J. Bot. 22: 208-277.
  • Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
  • Van der Werff, H.H. (s.a.) Pers. obs. and colls. Personal observations and collections.
  • Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Sporobolus virginicus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=982. Accessed 30 October 2026.