Aristida adscensionis L., Poaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Aristida coerulescens Desf.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: annual bristle grass, six weeks needgle grass, six-weeks three-awn

Spanish: flechilla, plumilla

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Habit: Annual, or perennial. Culms erect, or geniculately ascending, or decumbent; 10-100 cm long. Culm-internodes distally glabrous. Culm-nodes glabrous. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades flat, or conduplicate; 5-20 cm long; 1-3 mm wide. Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open, or contracted; elliptic; 10-30 cm long; evenly furnished, or contracted about primary branches. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.  Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; subterete; 6-12 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus elongated; 0.5 mm long; pilose; obtuse. Glumes persistent; similar; reaching apex of florets, or shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume lanceolate; 4-7 mm long; 0.8 times length of upper glume; scarious; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume primary vein scabrous. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex emarginate, or acute; muticous, or mucronate. Upper glume lanceolate; 5-10 mm long; 0.75-1 times length of adjacent fertile lemma; scarious; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Upper glume primary vein scabrous. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex dentate; 2 -fid; mucronate. Florets: Fertile lemma elliptic; laterally compressed; 5-13 mm long; coriaceous; keeled; 3 -veined. Lemma midvein scabrous. Lemma margins convolute; covering most of palea. Lemma apex acute; awned; 3 -awned. Principal lemma awn with 7-25 mm long limb; persistent. Lateral lemma awns 5-25 mm long; subequal to principal, or shorter than principal. Palea 0.2 times length of lemma; without keels. Flower: Anthers 3"  (World Grass Species).

Habitat/ecology:  (no habitat/ecology info known by PIER)

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Nearly worldwide in tropic, subtropic and warm-temperate regions" (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1482) Adventive
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1482) Volunteer
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Clayton, W. D. (1998) (p. 19) Voucher cited: Munro 128 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced	Herbst, Derral R./Clayton, W. D. (1998) (p. 19) Voucher cited: Hosaka 2418 (BISH) Volunteer in a grass plot, present status unknown but probably not established.

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 18)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 18)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 18)

Additional information:  Additional online information about Aristida adscensionis is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

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

References:

Clayton, W.D./Harman, K.T./Williamson, H. 2002. World Grass Species: Descriptions, Identification, and Information Retrieval. The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

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

Herbst, Derral R./Clayton, W. D. 1998. Notes on the grasses of Hawai‘i: new records, corrections, and name changes. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1997. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 55:17-38.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. 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).