Dichondra （Dichondra repens） is a warm-season perennial ground cover plant belonging to the Convolvulaceae， which is widely utilized in landscaping， soil and water conservation， and orchard ground cover. Low-temperature stress is a main limiting factor restricting its promotion and utilization. In this study， we evaluated turf performance and cold adaptability of 12 dichondra genotypes， including nine wild materials which were collected from Southwest China， two nationally certified cultivars， and one widely-used introduced cultivar. The results found significant variations in leaf area， uniformity， leaf color， green period， canopy height， and establishment rate among the 12 genotypes. A comprehensive evaluation of turf performance by using the subordinate function values analysis indicated that the wild Dr5 exhibited superior characteristics including fast establishment， short canopy height， dark green leaf color， high uniformity， and the longest green period， demonstrating high lawnscape value. In contrast， wild Dr17 showed the poorest turf performance. Under consecutive two-year low-temperature stress， all genotypes showed significant declines in chlorophyll content and fluorescence parameters （Fv/Fm and PI_ABS）， but electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde content exhibited varying degrees of increase. Notably， Dr5 demonstrated the lowest semilethal temperature， lower EL and MDA content， and higher chlorophyll content， Fv/Fm， and PIABS. These findings indicated that Dr5 had significantly lower oxidative damage to cell membrane， enhanced membrane stability， and superior photosynthetic performance under cold stress. Based on a comprehensive evaluation of cold tolerance using the subordinate function values analysis over two years， cold tolerance of 12 genotypes was ranked in descending order as follows： Dr5>Dr21>Dr1>Dr32>Dr2>Dr33>Dr30>Dr3>Dr4>Dr15>Dr11>Dr17. Dr5 exhibited the strongest cold resistance， and Dr17 had the weakest cold tolerance. Given its excellent turf quality and exceptional cold tolerance， Dr5 could be used as a superior germplasm for landscaping and a key candidate for breeding cold-tolerant dichondra cultivars. These findings also lay a foundation for further research into the low-temperature adaptation mechanism of different dichondra genotypes.

LTLow-temperature semilethal temperature  /  Photochemical efficiency  /  Dichondra repens  /  Turf performance  /  Cell membrane stability