Eleocharis dulcis (Burm.f.) Trin. ex Henschel, Cyperaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Eleocharis tuberosa (Roxb.) Schult.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chamorro: uchaga-lane

Chinese: bi qi

English: Chinese waterchestnut, ground-chestnut, waternut

Fijian: kuta, sasa, taria

French: châtaigne d'eau, cevuga vula, scirpe doux

Kwara‘ae: ngwano

Palauan: kerdikes, redil kerdikes, sechal kerdikes

Samoan: ‘utu‘utu, ‘utu‘utu, utuutu

Spanish: cabezas de negrito, nuez China

Tongan: kuta, kutu

Wallisian: kutu

Habit:  sedge

Description:  "Tufted perennial with short rhizome and elongated stolons, most of these terminated by a globose tuber; culms terete, 50-200 cm tall, 2-8 mm thick, empty and transversely septate, glaucous to shining deep green, clothed at base with a purplish membranous sheath truncate at orifice; spike cylindric, 2-6 cm long, 3-6 mm broad, terete, obtuse at apex, glaucous to straw-colored, many-flowerd; glumes subdensely imbricated, oblong to oblong-obovate, 4-6 mm long, 2-3 mm broad, thickly herbaceous, obtuse at apex, the obtuse median area with a distinct midvein and many slender veins; achenes obovate to broadly so, thickly biconvex, 1.5-2 mm long, 1-1.5 mm broad, maturing shining brown, weakly cancellate by hexagonal epidermal cells, the apex with an inconspicuous annual thickening, the style base deltoid, about 2/3 as broad as the achene apex; style 2- or 3-fid; hypogynous bristles 6-8, as long as to nearly twice as long as the achene body, retrorsely scabrous; stamens 3."  (Smith, 1979)"Culms robust, 60 (or 90) cm tall, glabrous, transversely septate, stoloniferous; corms globose, edible; sheaths few, truncate; inflorescence a solitary terminal spikelet; perianthoid bristles mostly 6, but 5-8; stamens 1, 2 or 3; style either bifed or trifid; nut obovoid"  (Stone, 1970; p. 171).

Habitat/ecology:  Found in marshes on Guam (Stone, 1970; p. 171).  In Fiji, "it occurs from near sea level to 825 m, in swamps and rotting in the mud of shallow lakes and ponds to a depth of 1 m" (Smith, 1979; pp. 239-240).

Propagation:  Seed.

Native range:  "Tropical West Africa and Madagascar to southern Asia and Japan, Micronesia, Malesia, northern Australia and eastward in the Pacific to Samoa and Tonga" (Smith, 1979; pp. 239-240).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Ta‘u Island		Whistler, W. A. (1980) (p. 163)
American Samoa Manu‘a Islands	Ta‘u Island		Yuncker, T. G. (1945) (p. 26) Voucher cited: Yuncker 9296 (BISH)
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Aunu‘u Island		Whistler, W. A. (1980) (p. 163)
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 91) Native?
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		Anon. (1988) (p. 1) Native?
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Chuuk Islands	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 69)
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Fefan Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 69)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 69)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	introduced invasive	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 42) Vouchers cited: N.S. Tangalin 1261 (PTBG), C. Trauernicht 100 (BISH, NY) Naturalized
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2005) (voucher ID: PTBG 48703) Taxon name on voucher: Eleocharis dulcis
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 69)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	native	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 239-240) Voucher cited: Smith 6887
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	native	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 239-240) Voucher cited: Smith 6887
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	probably introduced invasive	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 171) Vouchers cited: MacGregor 469, Rodin 689
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 69)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawaiian Islands	introduced cultivated	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1402)
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 69)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1977) (voucher ID: BNM 10098) Taxon name on voucher: Eleocharis dulcis (Burm. f.) Trin. ex Henschel
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 69)
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	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Merrill, Elmer D. (1925) (pp. 119-120) In open wet lands, shallow swamps, etc., at low altitudes.
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Western Samoa Islands	native	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 239-240)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 91) Native?
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 71)
Tonga Ha‘apai Group	Ha‘apai Islands	native	Whistler, W. A. (1992) (pp. 84-85) Voucher cited: Hotta 4873
Tonga Tongatapu Group	‘Eua Island	native	Whistler, W. A. (1992) (pp. 84-85) Vouchers cited: Hotta 5499, Sykes 404, Whistler 6507, Whistler 7472
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Niuafo‘ou Island	native	Whistler, W. A. (1992) (pp. 84-85) Voucher cited: Whistler 6369
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Vava‘u Island	native	Whistler, W. A. (1992) (pp. 84-85) Vouchers cited: Crosby 180, Yuncker 16027, Hotta 5070, Soakai 1055, Buelow 1037, Buelow & Sykes 15a
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Vava‘u Island		Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (p. 71) Voucher cited: Yuncker 16027

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)	New South Wales		Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James (1997) (p. 314)
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 65)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
China China	Hong Kong	introduced cultivated	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 312) Cultivated. In ponds, marshes and paddy fields.
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Ryukyu Islands	Ryukyu Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	native	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 38) Common
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
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)

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. 137)

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

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

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

References:

Anon. 1988. Weed list for American Samoa by cropping system. Checklist dated 07/13/88, origin unknown. 3 pp.

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 1977. Voucher specimen #BNM10098(Otobed, D.O. P-10098).

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./Otobed, D./Sachet, M.-H./Oliver, R. L./Powell, D. A./Canfield, J. E. 1980. Vascular plants of Palau with vernacular names. Department of Botany, The Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. 43 pp.

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

Hafliger, E. 1092. Monocot Weeds 3. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 132 pp. plus 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.

Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. 2010. Checklist of the vascular plants of Pohnpei with local names and uses. Allertonia, in press. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Hawai‘i. 146 pp.

Holm, Leroy/Doll, Jerry/Holm, Eric/Pancho, Jaun/Herberger, James. 1997. World weeds: natural histories and distribution. John Wiley & Sons. 1129 pp.

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.

Merrill, Elmer D. 1925. An enumeration of Philippine flowering plants, vol. 1 [reprint]. Bureau of Printing, Manila. 463 pp.

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

Stemmermann, Lani. 1981. A guide to Pacific wetland plants. U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Honolulu District. 118 pp.

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

Swarbrick, John T. 1997. Weeds of the Pacific Islands. Technical paper no. 209. South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 124 pp.

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).

Waterhouse, D. F. 1993. The major arthropod pests and weeds of agriculture in Southeast Asia. The Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Canberra. 141 pp.

Whistler, W. A. 1980. The vegetation of eastern Samoa. Allertonia 2:45-90.

Whistler, W. A. 1984. Annotated list of Samoan plant names. Economic Botany 38:464.489.

Whistler, W. A. 1992. Flora of Tonga [unpublished checklist]. 107 pp.

Whistler, W. A. 2000. Plants in Samoan culture: The ethnobotany of Samoa. Isle Botanica. 234 pp. ISB: 0-9645426-6-8.

Wu, Te-lin. 2001. Check List of Hong Kong Plants. Hong Kong Herbarium and the South China Institute of Botany. Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department Bulletin 1 (revised). 384 pp.

Yuncker, T. G. 1945. Plants of the Manua Islands. Bishop Mus. Bull. 184. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 73 pp.

Yuncker, T. G. 1959. Plants of Tonga. Bishop Museum Bull. 220. Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu. 343 pp.

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