Agrostis stolonifera L., Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk, score: 19 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: xi bo li ya jian gu ying

English: carpet bentgrass, creeping bent, creeping bentgrass, fiorin, marsh bent, redtop, redtop bent, redtop bentgrass, seaside bentgrass, spreading bent

French: agrostide stolonifère, traînasse, traîne

Spanish: agróstide estolonífera, heno ahumado, pasto fiorin

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Rhizomatous or stolonniferous perennials; culms decumbent, (3-) 4-10 (-13) dm long.  Sheaths smooth, glabrous, persistent; ligule truncate to obtuse, 1.5-5 (-8.5) mm long, erose-ciliolate, often lacerate; blades flat, folded, or involute, relatively wide, 2-5 (-6) mm wide when opened, scabrous.  Panicles (7-) 10-18 (-25) cm long, open, sometimes closing after anthesis, the branches scabrous, verticillate, ascending, floriferous from base; glumes lanceolate, acute, rounded on the back, nerves scabrous, purplish, first glume 2-2.5 mm long; second glume 1.8-22 (-2.5) mm long; lemma membranous, 1.4-1.8 (-2.3) mm long, 3-5-nerved, awnless, callus minutely bearded; palea membranous, translucent, 0.7-1.5 mm long.  Caryopsis pale brown to reddish brown, 0.5-0.8 mm long"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1494).

Description from GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  "Riparian habitats, seasonal freshwater wetlands, marshes, coastal scrub and beaches.  In the native range, this grass is commonly found in wet meadows and riparian habitats.  It is a polyploid complex in which clonal propagation is predominant.  It is fast growing and invasive because it forms mat-like dense colonies due to vegetative growth, displacing native vegetation and reducing species richness"  (Weber, 2003; p. 31).

In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in disturbed places, especially in moist sites, 640-1,680 m"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1494).

Propagation:  Seed? "Plants in Australia do not fruit and spread solely by stolons. Fragments of stolons easily root and regenerate to new plants" (Weber, 2003; p. 31).

Native range:  "Europe, widely naturalized"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1494).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 550)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced	Skottsberg, Carl (1953) (p. 215)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más Afuera (Alejandro Selkirk Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 550)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1494)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1494)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1494)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1494) Voucher cited: Forbes 98.Mo (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1494)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 9)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 9)
China China	China (People's Republic of)		Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Moist places along roadsides.
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 191)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Edgar, E./Connor, H. (2000) (p. 240) "Sea level to subalpine, often in damp or boggy sites, in disturbed ground, modified grassland or open scrub".

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mascarene Islands Mascarene Islands (Mauritius, La Reunion, Rodrigues)	Mascarene Islands	introduced	Weber, Ewald (2003) (p. 31)

Control: 

Physical:  Small patches may be dug out.

Chemical:  Spray with grass-selective herbicides.

Additional information:
Information from the Bugwood Wiki.

Additional online information about Agrostis stolonifera is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

Information about Agrostis stolonifera as a weed (worldwide references) may be available from the Global Compendium of Weeds (GCW).

Taxonomic information about Agrostis stolonifera may be available from the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN).

References:

Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John. 2011. Naturalized species in the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile. Unpublished spreadsheet.

Comité français de l'Union Internationale pour la Conservation de la Nature en France. 2010. Les espéces envahissantes en outre-mer (online resource).

Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido. 2006. Nouveau catalogue de la flore vaculaire de l'archipel Juan Fernández (Chile) [Nuevo catálogo de la flora vacular del Archipélago Juan Fernández (Chile)]. Acta Bot. Gallica 153(4):399-587.

Edgar, E./Connor, H. 2000. Flora of New Zealand, vol. V: Gramineae. Manaaki Whenua Press. .

Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar. 1980. Grass weeds, vol. 2. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 137 pp. + plates.

Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro. 2004. Invasive alien species in Japan: the status quo and the new regulation for prevention of their adverse effects. Global Environmental Research 8(2)/2004: 171-191.

Skottsberg, Carl. 1953. The natural history of Juan Fernandez and Easter Island. Vol. II, Botany. Almqvist &l; Wiksells, Uppsala. 960 pp.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2011. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.

Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. 1999. Manual of the flowering plants of Hawaii. Revised edition. Bernice P. Bishop Museum special publication. University of Hawai‘i Press/Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 1919 pp. (two volumes).

Weber, Ewald. 2003. Invasive plants of the World. CABI Publishing, CAB International, Wallingford, UK. 548 pp.

Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong. 2011. Flora of China (online resource).