Bulbostylis barbata (Rottb.) C.B. Clarke, Cyperaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  no

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Scirpus barbata Rottb.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: qiu zhu cao

English: hair sedge

French: bulbostylis barbu

Habit:  sedge

Description:  "Densely tufted annual without rhizome.  Culms slender, erect, 5-30 cm tall, 0.25-0.4 mm thick, leaved at base.  Leaf blades capillary to filiform, 4-10 cm long, 0.25-0.5 mm wide, acute at apex, glabrous or at times sparsely pilose on lower surface toward apex; sheaths 5-20 mm long, membranous, brownish, glabrous, the white-hyaline orifice with scattered long white hairs.  Inflorescence terminal head of 2 to 20 sessile spikelets, 5-15 mm across, eventually brownish.  Bracts 1 to 3, spreading, 1-2.5 cm long, setaceous with dilated base, glabrous or with scattered hairs on lower surface.  Spikelets sessile, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, 3-8 mm long, 1-1.75 mm wide, angular, suddenly subacute at apex, subdensely 7- to 15-flowered, pale-brownish.  Glumes ovate, 1.5-2.25 mm long with recurved short awn, 1.25-1.5 mm wide, membranous, yellowish-green and eventually becoming rusty-brown, prominently keeled, ciliolate, occasionally puberulent on upper part. Achenes obovate-orbicular, trigonous, 0.6-0.75 mm long, 0.4-0.6 mm wide, pale, smoothish, obscurely finely reticulate with isodiametrical cells, rounded to apex; style-base depressed-globular; style filiform, 0.75-1 mm long; stigmas 3, shorter than the style.  Stamen 1; anther 0.25-3 mm long" (Dassanayake, 1983; p. 327).

Habitat/ecology:  In Sri Lanka, "in open dry or semidry sandy places, frequent on dune sands and sandy grounds near the sea shore, also in inland savannah and on rock outcrops, 0-1000 m altitude" (Dassanayake, 1983; p. 327).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Africa, India to southeast Asia and Malesia, China, Japan, Australia, southern US, Guatemala, Martinique and Venezuela (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands		Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Merrill, Elmer D. (1925) (pp. 127-128) In open dry sandy places at low and medium altitudes, locally abundant, ascending to 1,500 m.

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)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
North Korea North Korea	North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 63)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 21) Common
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 63)

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	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Also reported from
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
United States (continental except west coast) United States (other states)	United States (other states)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

Comments:  Reported to be an invasive species in southeast Asia per Barbara Waterhouse, pers. com.

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

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

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

References:

Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. 2009. A checklist of the total vascular plant flora of Singapore: native, naturalised and cultivated species. Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research, National University of Singapore. 273 pp.

Dassanayake, M. D., gen. ed. 1983. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. Vol V. Amerind Pub. Co., New Delhi. 476 pp.

Hafliger, E. 1092. Monocot Weeds 3. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 132 pp. plus plates.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1925. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 1 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 463 pp.

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

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

Waterhouse, D. F. 1993. The major arthropod pests and weeds of agriculture in Southeast Asia. The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. 141 pp.

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