Eragrostis unioloides (Retz.) Nees ex Steud., Poaceae

Click on an image for links to BIGGER PICTURES

Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: niu shi cao

English: Chinese love grass, Chinese lovegrass

Habit:  grass

Description: 

Genus: "Annuals or perennials; panicle open or contracted, bearing few- to many-flowered spikelets, the florets generally imbricate, the rachilla disarticulating above the glumes and between the florets, the lemmas deciduous, acuminate or acute, keeled or rounded on the back, 3-nerved, the nerves usually prominent; paleae sometimes persistent, 2-nerved, the keels sometimes ciliate, the glumes sometimes unequal, acuminate or acute, 1-nerved" (Smith, 1979; pp. 301-302).

Species:  "Culms erect, 25-60 cm high; leaf blades flat, narrow, 7.5-15 cm long, 1.5-3 mm broad; panicle 7-15 cm long, the racemes purplish, ascending, 2-7 cm long, branched; spikelets ovate, compressed, truncate at base, obtuse at apex, 10-25-flowered, usually purplish in color, the paleae and lemmas usually falling together" (Smith, 1979; pp. 301-302).

Description from GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, occurs "with some frequency on Viti Levu...from sea level to about 200 m in fields, pastures, and along roadsides.  It is a moderately common weed locally and probably is to be expected on other islands"  (Smith, 1979; pp. 301-302).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Southern Asia, but now widespread (Smith, 1979; pp. 301-302).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1997) (voucher ID: PTBG 24410) Taxon name on voucher: Eragrostis unioloides (Retz.) Nees
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 301-303) Vouchers cited: Greenwood 815A, DA 8639, DA 6084, DA 1187, DA 8453, DA 7526, DA 8709, DA 7713, Smith 7093, DA 7592
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Herbst, Derral R./Wagner, Warren L. (1999) (pp. 26-27) Vouchers cited: Kawasaki s.n. (BISH 118925), Wagner & Stemmermann 4634 (BISH), Stemmermann 7128 (BISH), Wagner et al. 5969 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank (2008) (p. 32) East Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H90639 (BISH)
Papua New Guinea Bougainville Islands	Bougainville Island		Foreman, D. B. (1971) (p. 25)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Merrill, Elmer D. (1925) (pp. 90-91) In open wet places at low altitudes.
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 78)

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)	Queensland	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
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)
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 335) On grasslands, hillslopes and along roadside.
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	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. 39) 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)

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

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

Taxonomic information about Eragrostis unioloides 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.

Foreman, D. B. 1971. A check list of the vascular plants of Bougainville, with descriptions of some common forest trees. Botany Bulletin No. 5. Division of Botany, Department of Forests. Lae, New Guinea. 194 pp.

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

Herbst, Derral R./Wagner, Warren L. 1999. Contributions to the flora of Hawai‘i. VII. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1998. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 58:12-36.

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

Oppenheimer, Hank. 2008. New Hawaiian plant records for 2007. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucias G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2007. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 100:22-38.

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

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

U.S. Dept. Agr., Nat. Res. Cons. Serv. 2011. The PLANTS Database. National Plant Data Center, Baton Rouge, LA 70874-4490 USA.

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).

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.

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