Briza minor L., Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only 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 World Grass Species.

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).

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. 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).