1. Paspalum dilatatum Poiret (syn.: P. platense Spreng.) (S-Am.) – An exceptional and ephemeral alien. Recorded only twice so far: a single specimen grew on the verge of the E40-motorway in Sint-Denijs-Westrem in 2000. Its vector of introduction remains uncertain but it might have been introduced through traffic. This locality was soon destroyed after infrastructural works. In 2017 a small colony was detected in a canal bank in Genk where it grows along with other southern grasses such as Setaria parviflora and Sporobolus indicus. A naturalization in this locality cannot be excluded. Recently also reported for the first time from the Netherlands (Holverda & al. 2009).
Paspalum dilatatum is an upcoming neophyte that is chiefly confined to road verges. It is rapidly spreading northwards from southern France where it is widely naturalised since several decades. In the years to come the number of records in Belgium and elsewhere in western Europe will probably increase and a future naturalisation seems predictable. Additional information on its potential in western Europe is available at: http://www.q-bank.eu/Plants/Factsheets/Paspalum%20dilatatum%20NL.pdf.
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Selected literature:
Holverda W., van Moorsel R. & Duistermaat L. (2009) Nieuwe vondsten van zeldzame planten in 2005, 2006 en ten dele 2007. Gorteria 34: 1-40.