Eragrostis superba Peyr, Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Massai lovegrass, sawtooth love grass, Wilman love grass

Spanish: pasto avena

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Habit: Perennial; caespitose. Culms erect; 20-120 cm long. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades 10-40 cm long; 2-10 mm wide; glaucous. Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; lanceolate, or ovate; 10-30 cm long. Primary panicle branches simple, or moderately divided. Panicle branches stiff. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels oblong; 1-5 mm long. Spikelets comprising 6-28(-47) fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets ovate, or orbicular; laterally compressed; compressed strongly; 6-16(-23) mm long; 3-10 mm wide; falling entire. Glumes similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; 2-4 mm long; 1 times length of upper glume; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate; 2-4 mm long; 0.6-0.9 times length of adjacent fertile lemma; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex acute.  Fertile florets imbricate to tip. Fertile lemma ovate; 3-4.5 mm long; membranous; keeled; 3 -veined. Lemma midvein scaberulous. Lemma apex obtuse. Palea 2 -veined. Palea keels thickened; winged; ciliolate. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped. Flower: Anthers 3; 2 mm long. Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; ellipsoid; 1-1.5 mm long"  (GrassBase).

Habitat/ecology:  (no habitat/ecology info known by PIER)

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Africa (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Clayton, W. D. (1998) (p. 28) Voucher cited: Funk & Hall 252 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim (2011) (p. 30) East Maui. Voucher cited: Starr & Starr 080220-01 (BISH)

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)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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

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

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

References:

Clayton, W.D./Harman, K.T./Williamson, H. 2011. World Grass Species: Descriptions, Identification, and Information Retrieval [GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora]. The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

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

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.

Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim. 2011. New plant records from midway Atoll, Maui and Kaho‘olawe. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2009-2010. Part II: Plants. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 110:23-35.

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