Cenchrus elegans (Hassk.) Veldkamp, Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  High risk; score: 7 (Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment for Cenchrus elegans)

Other Latin names:  Cenchrus caninus Morrone; Gymnotrix macrostachys Brongn.; Pennisetum macrostachys (Brongn.) Trin.; Saccharum caninum Reinw. ex Blume; Sericura elegans Hassk.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Pacific fountain grass, Pacific fountaingrass

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Perennials. Culms erect to geniculate at base, not rooting in the decumbent nodes, not stoloniferous, rhizomatous, 1–3 m long, solid, nodes glabrous. Ligule a ciliolate rim, c. 0.15 mm long. Blades flat, 10–65 cm by (6–)8–35 mm, margins scaberulous. Peduncle puberulous below the panicle. Panicle exserted, many-spikeled, 15–40 cm long, common axis puberulous. Involucre stipitate, disarticulating at base. Bristles many, rather stiff, scaberulous, unequal, longest ones 32 – 55 mm long. Spikelets 1 within the involucre, pedicelled, 4.5–6.5 mm long. Lower glume 1.25–1.75 mm long, 0.39–0.53 times as long as the upper glume; upper glume 2.5–3.4 mm long, 1-nerved. First lemma epaleate, acuminate, membranous, 3–5-nerved, glabrous, nerves smooth; second lemma membranous. Anthers 1.65–2.1 mm long, apex glabrous. 2n = ?" (Veldkamp, 2014, p. 68)

Habitat/ecology:  "Habitat--Sunny, infertile soil, slopes, along hollow roads, Imperata fields, gravel beds, savannahs, 0–2130 m altitude." (Veldkamp, 2014, p. 68)

Propagation:  (no propagation information known by PIER)

Native range:  Indonesia, Philippines, Papua New Guinea (GRIN)

Impacts and invaded habitats:  (no invaded habitats or impacts known by PIER; please let us know if you know of such information we should add here)

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cook Islands Cook Islands	Cook Islands		Global Biodiversity Information Facility (2018) accessed 20180521
Fiji Fiji Islands	Fiji Islands		Global Biodiversity Information Facility (2018) accessed 20180521
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced cultivated	Parker, J. L./Parsons, B. (2016) (pp. 20-21) first naturalized record on this island based on material collected 01 August 2011; online document accessed 20171220
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands		Global Biodiversity Information Facility (2018) accessed 20180521
New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea) New Guinea Island	New Guinea Island		Global Biodiversity Information Facility (2018) accessed 20180521
Niue Niue	Niue Island		Global Biodiversity Information Facility (2018) accessed 20180521
Papua New Guinea Bismarck Archipelago	Bismarck Archipelago		Global Biodiversity Information Facility (2018) accessed 20180521
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20171219
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)		Consortium of Pacific Herbaria (2018)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20171219
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands		Global Biodiversity Information Facility (2018) accessed 20180521

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20171219
Indonesia Indonesia	Java		Global Biodiversity Information Facility (2018) accessed 20180521; "Jawa"
Indonesia Indonesia	Lesser Sunda Islands		Global Biodiversity Information Facility (2018) accessed 20180521
Malaysia/Indonesia Borneo	Borneo		Global Biodiversity Information Facility (2018) accessed 20180521

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 of America United States	United States	introduced cultivated	U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (year unknown) accessed 20171219

Comments:  Cultivated in the United States (GRIN)

"Distribution [PIER ed.: not sure whether 'native range' is implied]--Widespread in W Malesia into the Pacific (Solomon Isl.), but not in the Malay Peninsula (once cultivated in Penang and Singapore) nor in Australia." (Veldkamp, 2014, p. 68)

On the Big Island of Hawaii, "[a] form with uniformly reddish purple stems, leaves, and panicles occurs between 1500–2100 m altitudes. this might be the same as what is known as the cv. Burgundy Giant of horticulturists (Veldkamp 2014)." (HBS Records, p. 20)

Control:  No species-specific control methods are known by PIER for this taxon; however--among many others--Motooka et al., 2003 (glyphosate) and Laca-Buendia and Pires, 1992 (Clethodim) provide information about control of similar species (others in the genus Cenchrus).