Chloris gayana Kunth, Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Reject, score: 6 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

English: hunyanigrass, Rhodes grass

French: chloris, herbe de Rhodes

Spanish: grama de Rodas, grama Rhodes, pasto de Rodas, zacate conejo

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Glabrous perennials; culms erect or sometimes decumbent, usually with long, stout, flattened, leafy stolons, occasionally rooting at lower nodes, 50-150 (-200) cm tall.  Lower sheaths about as long as internodes, upper sheaths somewhat shorter, striate, compressed, keeled; ligule membranous, ca 0.5 mm long, ciliate; blades flat, rarely involute, 10-50 cm long, 3-5 (-9) mm wide, usually keeled, upper surface near base sparsely papillose-hispid, apex attenuate.  Inflorescences of (5-) 7-20 digitate, ascending to spreading spikes 4-15 cm long, ascending when young, spreading or sometimes slightly reflexed when mature, rachis slender, scabrous, base tomentose; spikelets 3-4-flowered, pale yellowish brown, closely imbricate; glumes narrow, 1-nerved, the nerves scabrous, first glume ovate-elliptic, 1.5-2 mm long, apex obtuse or acute, second glume elliptic, 2.5-3.5 mm long, margins scarious, apex acute or bifid; first lemma broadly elliptic, irregularly rhomboid in profile, 3-3.5 mm long, ciliate and long-hispid toward apex, apex bifid, awn straight, 1-5 mm long, callus with a tuft of white hairs; palea 3-3.5 mm long, ciliate and long-hispid toward apex, apex bifid, awn straight, 1-5 mm long, callus with a tuft of white hairs; palea 3-3.5 mm long, often exceeding lemma, submembranous, glabrous or sparsely scaberulous on upper part, apex bifid; rudiment of 2 sterile florets, lower one narrow, obtuse, 2-2.5 mm long, with a straight awn 1-2 mm long, upper one minute, truncate.  Caryopsis ovoid, laterally compressed, ca 1.5 mm long" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1515, 1906).

Description from World Grass Species.

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized and common in open, disturbed areas, especially in pastures and along roadsides, 15-1,040 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1515).  In Guam, "occasional in cultivation" (Stone, 1970; p. 195).  In Fiji, an occasional escape (Smith, 1979; p. 310). In New Caledonia, "assez commun en pâturages et lieux incultes" (MacKee, 1994;p. 58).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Africa, now naturalized throughout the Neotropics" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1515).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Lord Howe Island	Lord Howe Island	introduced	Pickard, J. (1984) (p. 205)
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Lord Howe Island	Lord Howe Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 22) "Occurring in rough grassland and pasture". Vouchers cited: L.M. Bingley 25 (K), R.D. Hoogland 8719 (CANB, MEL), A.N. Rodd 1822 (K, NSW)
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced invasive	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 12) "Occurring in rough grassland and pasture". Voucher cited: M. Lazarides 8066 (CANB)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		McCormack, Gerald (2007)
Cook Islands Southern Cook Islands	Rarotonga Island		Sykes, Bill (year unknown)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 310-311) Vouchers cited: DA 8308, 11311, 11852, 12582, 2803, 3619, 3620, 4017, 7397, 8465, 8466, 9053, 11782
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 195)
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 34)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1515)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1515) Voucher cited: Forbes 181.L (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1515)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Moloka‘i Island	introduced invasive	Hughes, Guy D'Oyly (1995) (p. 8) Voucher cited: Hughes 367 (US) Naturalized in mixed lowland shrublands and lowland grasslands from 50-400 m.
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Ni‘ihau Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1515)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1515)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	introduced invasive	Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe (1996) (p. 380) Assez commune en pâturages et lieux incultes.
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 58) Voucher cited: Guillaumin s.n.
New Zealand (offshore islands) Kermadec Islands	Raoul Island	introduced invasive	Sykes, W. R. (1977) (p. 165) Casual adventive.
New Zealand (offshore islands) Kermadec Islands	Raoul Island	introduced invasive	Edgar, E./Connor, H. (2000) (p. 508) "Coastal, behind dunes in grassy flats, also in pasture".
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 237) Vouchers cited: CHR 168785, CHR 168812, CHR 168783
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced	Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 48)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 57)

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. 48)
China China	China (People's Republic of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 48)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. plate)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 48)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Edgar, E./Connor, H. (2000) (p. 508) "Coastal, behind dunes in grassy flats, also in pasture".
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. plate)

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

Taxonomic information about Chloris gayana 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. .

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce. 1987. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian monocotyledonae. Micronesica 20:1-126.

Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe. 1996. Conséquences des introductions d'espèces animales et végétales sur la biodiversité en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Rev. Ecol. (Terre Vie) 51:375-401.

Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar. 1980. Grass weeds, vol. 1. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 142 pp. + plates.

Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar. 1980. Grass weeds, vol. 2. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 137 pp. + plates.

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Hughes, Guy D'Oyly. 1995. New Hawaiian plant records II. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1994. Part 2: Notes. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 42:1-10.

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

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

McCormack, Gerald. 2007. Cook Islands biodiversity and natural heritage. On-line database.

Orchard, Anthony E., ed. 1994. Flora of Australia. Vol. 49, Oceanic islands 1. Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra.

Pickard, J. 1984. Exotic plants on Lord Howe Island: Distribution in space and time, 1853-1981. J. of Biogeography 11:181-208.

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Sykes, Bill. 0. Bill Sykes, pers. com.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

Sykes, W. R. 1977. Kermadec Islands flora: an annotated checklist. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 219, Wellington. 216 pp.

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).

Whistler, W. A. 1988. Checklist of the weed flora of western Polynesia. Technical Paper No. 194, South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 69 pp.