Cenchrus pilosus Kunth, Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Annual; culms 10 cm to nearly 1 meter high, erect or decumbent at the base, simple or sparingly branching; blades rather thin,, flat, scabrous, or sometimes papillose-pilose, 10-40 cm long, 6-12 mm wide; spikes 2-14 cm long, dense, erect, usually long-exserted on relatively stout peduncles; body of bur about 5 mm thick, densely pilose, the bristles antrorsely scabrous, much exceeding the bur; spikelets usually 3" (Swallen, 1955; p. 78).

"A spreading, rather stout annual similar to Cenchrus echinatus, but usually decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes; burs larger than those of C. echinatus, the bristles antrorsely scabrous, the inner twice as long as the body of the bur" (Hitchcock, 1927; p. 78).

Description from GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  "Sand bars and rocky slopes at low altitudes" (Swallen, 1955; p. 78). "Open ground and cultivated soil" (Hitchcock, 1927; p. 78).

Propagation:  Seed (attaching burs).

Native range:  Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Colombia and Venezuela to Peru (Swallen, 1955; p. 78). Mexico to Ecuador (Hitchcock, 1927; p. 78).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) Santa Cruz Group	Santa Cruz Island	introduced invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)

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

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

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

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Charles Darwin Research Station. 2005. CDRS Herbarium records.

Hitchcock, A. S. 1927. The grasses of Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia. Contr. U. S. Natl. Herb. 24(8).

Swallen, Jason R./McClure, F. A. 1955. Flora of Guatemala. Grasses of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany. Vol. 24, Part II. Chicago Natural History Museum. 390 pp.