Dichanthium caricosum (L.) A. Camus, Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Andropogon caricosus L.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: dan sui cao

English: angleton grass, Antigua haygrass, Nadi bluegrass, roadside bluestem

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Perennial with erect culms to 90 cm tall; blades 5-15 (-20) cm long, 3-6 mm wide; racemes to 10 cm long, glabrous, usually 2, 2 or 3 together, on the jointed rachis; spikelets paired, 2-flowered, only the upper floret of the sessile spikelet perfect, about 5 mm long; lower glume of sessile spikelet lacking midnerve; awn (upper lemma) up to 2-2.5 cm long" (Stone, 1970; pp. 230-231).

Description from GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  Reportedly introduced as a pasture grass to Wallis and Futuna and now a widespread grass on Wallis (Warea Orapa, pers. com.). In Fiji, "covers large areas from sea level to about 300 m., being very common especially in the dry zones, in pastures, canefields, waste places, and along roadsides. It is an important pasture grass in the dry zone of Viti Levu and in some dry areas it is also used as a lawn grass. Unfortunately, it also becomes a weed of cultivation and waste places" (Smith, 1979; pp. 383-384). Introduced in Guam, "locally persistent, in fields, but not common" (Stone, 1970; pp. 230-231).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Tropical Asia and Malesia" (Smith, 1979; pp. 383-384). "India and Ceylon, Burma, Malaya, and S. China" (Stone, 1970; pp. 230-231).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 8)
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Tinian Island	introduced	Raulerson, L. (2006) (p. 8)
Cook Islands Cook Islands	Cook Islands	introduced invasive	McCormack, Gerald (2011) Naturalized
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 383-384) Vouchers cited: Greenwood 594, DA 8729, DA 8823, DA 8949
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 383-384) Vouchers cited: DA 8234, DA 15213, DA 15208, DA 15210, DA 8154, DA 8284, DA 15220, DA 12781, DA 3257, DA 8437, DA 7306, DA 15205, DA 11033, DA 2521, DA 3036, DA 7787, DA 2905
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced invasive	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (pp. 230-231) Voucher cited: Moore 250
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 36)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) Voucher cited: Cribs 826
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1983) (voucher ID: PTBG 12367) Taxon name on voucher: Dichanthium caricosum
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		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 41)
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna (Horne) Islands	Wallis (‘Uvea) Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Orapa, Warea (2005)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	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)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 41)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	uncertain if introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 33) Weed of uncertain origin
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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

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

Taxonomic information about Dichanthium caricosum 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.

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

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

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

McCormack, Gerald. 2011. Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga.

Orapa, Warea. 2005. Warea Orapa, Weed Mangement Officer, Secretariat of the Pacific Community, pers. com. (Trip Report, Wallis and Futuna Islands, 8 to 22 May, 2004).

Raulerson, L. 2006. Checklist of Plants of the Mariana Islands. University of Guam Herbarium Contribution 37:1-69. .

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.

U. S. Government. 2011. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

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

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