Briza minor L., Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: lesser quaking grass, little quaking grass, shiverygrass

French: petite amourette, petite brize

Spanish: brizna, pastito de Dios

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Annuals; culms slender, up to 75 cm tall.  Sheaths loose, striate, nodes glabrous, with a few scattered hairs below, ca. 5 cm long; ligule membranous, ca. 3 mm long; blades linear, up to 7.5 cm long, up to 4 mm wide, margins minutely scaberulous, base subcordate.  Inflorescence a loose panicle up to 10 cm long, up to 8 cm wide, the branches ascending to erect, filiform, ultimate ones apparently dichotomously branched, each ending in a drooping spikelet; spikelets many-flowered, laterally compressed; first glume at right angles to rachilla, boat-shaped, ca. 2.4 mm long, median portion 3-nerved, margins scarious, apex rounded; second glume ca. 2.4 mm long; first lemma ca. 1.5 mm long, base cordate, widely clasping; palea 2-nerved, winged, nerves ciliate.  Caryopsis brown, boat-shaped, pointed, ca. 1 mm long"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1505).

Description from GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized and common in moist to dry, open areas such as pastures and along roadsides, and in subalpine forest, 360-1,830 m"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1505).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Europe, now widely naturalized"  (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1505).

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. 1505) Voucher cited: Mann & Brigham 632 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2000) (p. 14) Voucher cited: J. Rémy 85 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1505)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1505)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1505)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1505)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1505)
New Zealand (offshore islands) Kermadec Islands	Kermadec Islands	introduced invasive	Edgar, E./Connor, H. (2000) (p. 90) "Usually on roadsides, sometimes on sandhills or swamp margins".

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. 31)
Chile (continental) Chile	Chile (Republic of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 31)
China China	China (People's Republic of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 31)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 55)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 31)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Edgar, E./Connor, H. (2000) (p. 90) "Usually on roadsides, sometimes on sandhills or swamp margins".

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 55)

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

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

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

References:

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.

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2000. New Hawaiian plant records for 1999. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1999. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 63:9-16.

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2009. 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).