Dichanthium aristatum (Poir.) C.E.Hubb., Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: mao geng shuang hua cao

English: Angleton bluestem, angleton grass, awned dichanthium, bearded golden-beard, bluestem, Wilder grass

Spanish: hierba Angleton, puntero

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Perennials; culms 20-100 cm tall, geniculate at base, white-pubescent at nodes.  Sheaths glabrous, striate; ligule membranous, ca. 0.8 mm long; blades 3-25 cm long, 2-5 mm wide, scabrous on upper surface, sparsely pilose but becoming glabrous toward base.  Inflorescences composed of 1-6 subdigitate short-pedunculate racemes, peduncles and upper culm axis pubescent, racemes flexuous, 2-8 cm long; spikelets imbricate, with 1-6 smaller homogamous spikelet pairs at base of each raceme; sessile spikelet elliptic to obovate, 2-5 mm long, short-pilose at base, first glume chartaceous, convex, pilose below middle, upper part glabrous or short-ciliate along margins and near apex, apex broadly obtuse or subacute, second glume narrower than first glume, keeled, glabrous except margins pubescent, first lemma membranous, subequal to glumes, second lemma narrow, prolonged into a geniculate awn 10-20 mm long; pedicellate spikelet with glumes similar in shape and size to sessile spikelet, florets absent, awnless; palea absent.  Caryopsis greenish brown, lenticular, 2-2.5 mm long."  (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1528-1529, 1907).

Description from GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  In Hawai‘i, "naturalized in lawns, pastures, and grasslands, also common in frequently disturbed areas, 0-520 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1528-1529).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "India to southeastern Asia, widely naturalized in other tropical regions" (Wagner et al., 1999; pp. 1528-1529).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Voucher cited: J. Florence 4480 (PAP) Adventice
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaho‘olawe Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Clayton, W. D. (1998) (p. 22) Voucher cited: Wood et al. 1735 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1529)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Lāna‘i Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1529)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1529)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1529) Voucher cited: Forbes 1728.O (BISH)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	introduced	Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	introduced invasive cultivated	Gargominy, Oliver/Bouchet, Philipe/Pascal, Michel/Jaffre, Tanguy/Tourneu, Jean-Christophe (1996) (p. 380) Souvent en dehors des pâturages.
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	introduced	Henty, E. E. (1969) (p. 69)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 40)

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. 40)
China China	China (People's Republic of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 40)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 40)

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. 125)

Additional information:
Information from FAO.

Additional online information about Dichanthium aristatum is available from the Hawaiian Ecosystems at Risk project (HEAR).

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

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

References:

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

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.

Henty, E. E. 1969. A manual of the grasses of New Guinea. Department of Forests, Division of Botany, Botany Bull. No. 1. Lae, New Guinea. 215 pp.

Herbst, Derral R./Clayton, W. D. 1998. Notes on the grasses of Hawai‘i: new records, corrections, and name changes. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1997. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 55:17-38.

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.

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

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

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