Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Threat only at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Andropogon caricosus L.

Common name(s): [more details]

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 World Grass Species.

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 (2007) 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
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. (2007)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 41)
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna (Horne) Islands	Wallis 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. (2007)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
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. (2007)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2007)

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

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

References:

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

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 40:1-69. .

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. 2006. Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) (on-line resource).

U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. 2007. National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online searchable database.