Fimbristylis autumnalis (L.) R & S., Cyperaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Fimbristylis complanata (Retz.) Link

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: qiu piao fu cao

English: autumn rush, slender fimbristylis

French: fimbristylis d'automne

Tongan: takataka

Habit:  sedge

Description:  "Soft-based, tufted annual, 0.2-2.5 dm. high, culms flat, slender, diffuse or erect; umbel simple compound or decompound, with 1-several rays, or rays suppressed in forma brachyactis (Fern.) S.F. Blake (short-rayed, and 1-50 ovate-lanceolate or lance-elliptic brown or castaneous spikelets 3-8 mm long; scale ovate-lanceolate, with free slender tips; achenes 0.5-0.75 mm long, smooth or minutely roughened"  (Fernald, 1970; p. 262).

Of Fimbristylis autumnalis var. complanata (Retz.) Barros): "Polymorphic perennial; rhizome horizontal or at times short, clothed with brown fibers; culms closely arranged in a row along rhizome or more or less tufted, markedly flattened-trigonous, 30-70 cm tall, 2-5 mm broad, stiff, glabrous, smooth, narrowly winged above at least below corymb, clothed at base with a few sheaths; leaves few to a culm, the blades shorter than culm, flat, 3-5 mm broad, stiffly herbaceous, blunt at apex, scabrid on upper margins; sheaths laterally compressed with sharply keeled back, the ventral membrananous side rusty-colored, obliquely truncate at orifice; ligule a fringe of short pubescence; corymbs compound or decompound, 4-10 cm long, 3-6 cm broad, subloose to subdense; rays 2-5, 1-7 cm long, flattened, scabrid; leafy bracts 2-4, the lowest one suberect, shorter than corymb; spikelets small, oblong to lance-ovate, 4-9 mm long, 1-2 mm broad, abruptly acute at apex, rusty-brown, subloosely 5-15-flowered; glumes ovate, 2.5-3 mm long, abruptly contracted to a mucronate apex, chartaceous, rusty-brown, 1-keeled, the keel green, projecting into a short cusp; achenes broadly obovate, trigonous, about 1.5 mm long, milky-white, finely cancellate with several rows of transversely oblong epidermal cells; style slender, about 1 mm long, not ciliate; stigmas 3, as long as style; anthers about 1 mm long" (Smith, 1979; pp. 241-242).

Of Fimbristylis autumnalis var. tainanensis (Ohwi): "Herb, culms from short creeping rhizome to 50 cm tall; sheaths bilaterally, compressed, acutely carinate, distichous, grooved; leaves all with blades, 3-5 mm wide crowded near base of culm and often longer; inflorescence a tight umbel, or 2 or 3; rays crowded, short; spikelets brown 5 mm long, glumes sharply carinate about 1.5-2 mm long; style trifid.  Achene trigonal, pale, finely warty" (Stone, 1970; p. 172).

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "occurs infrequently as a naturalized adventive, occurring in wet pastures and in other wet places on open slopes, at elevations from near sea level to 800 m" (Smith, 1979; 241-242).  "Occasional in wet places in Tonga and on Tutuila, American Samoa (Whistler, 1988; p. 42).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  The Americas (GRIN). Fosberg et al. (1987; p. 70) list var. tainanensis (Ohwi) T. Koyama as native in Micronesia.

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 42) Voucher cited: Whistler 323
American Samoa Tutuila Islands	Tutuila Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1991) (voucher ID: PTBG 11693) Taxon name on voucher: Fimbristylis autumnalis (L.) R & S.
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 70) var. tainanensis
Fiji Fiji Islands	Ovalau Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 241-242) Voucher cited: Milne 272
Fiji Fiji Islands	Taveuni Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 241-242) Voucher cited: Seemann 675
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 241-242) Voucher cited: Degener & Ordonez 14221
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 241-242) Vouchers cited: Greenwood 173, 279; Smith 6258
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	native	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 172) Var. tainanensis (Ohwi) T. Koyama; vouchers cited: MacGregor 441, MacGregor 537, Necker 59, Moore 223
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 70) var. tainanensis
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 70) var. tainanensis
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1978) (voucher ID: BNM 1051) Taxon name on voucher: Fimbristylis autumnalis ssp. tainanensis (Ohwi) Koyama
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 70) var. tainanensis
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Merrill, Elmer D. (1925) (p. 122) In open wet places at low and medium altitudes.
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island		Whistler, W. A. (1992) (p. 85) Vouchers cited: Graeffe 1221, Yuncker 15079, Yuncker 15294, Hotta 5099, Sykes 903, Buelow 103
Tonga Tongatapu Group	Tongatapu Island		Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (pp. 71-72) Vouchers cited: Yuncker 15079, Yuncker 15294
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Niuatoputapu Island		Whistler, W. A. (1992) (p. 85) Vouchers cited: Hurlimann 383, Buelow 1134, Buelow 1437
Tonga Vava‘u Group	Niuatoputapu Island		Yuncker, T. G. (1959) (pp. 71-72) Voucher cited: Hürlmann 383
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna (Horne) Islands	Wallis (‘Uvea) Island	native	Morat, Ph./Veillon, J.-M. (1985) Morat & Veillon, 1985, cited in Meyer, 2007
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna (Horne) Islands	Wallis and Futuna Islands		Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 42)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
China China	China (People's Republic of)		Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Cultivated ground, grasslands; below 600 m. Jiangxi (Wugong Shan), Liaoning.
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 313) As Fimbristylis complanata (Retz.) Link. In muddy seashore, wet places by streams or paddy fields.
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
El Salvador El Salvador	El Salvador (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Honduras Honduras	Honduras (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 162)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Nicaragua Nicaragua	Nicaragua (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island		Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)

Comments:  Varities: var. tainanensis (Ohwi), var. complanata (Retz.) Barros

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

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

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

References:

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 1978. Voucher specimen #BNM1051(Canfield, J.E. 606).

Fernald, M. L. 1950. Gray's manual of botany, eighth edition. American Book Co. p. 588.

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.

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.

Meyer, Jean-Yves. 2007. Rapport de mission sur l'Ile d'Uvea (Wallis & Futuna) du 6 au 17 Novembre 2007: Inventaire preliminaire de la flore vasculaire secondaire [unpublished report]. Délégation à la Recherche, Ministère de l'Education, l'Enseignement Supérieur et la Recherche, B.P. 20981 Papeete, Tahiti, Polynésie française. 39 pp.

Morat, Ph./Veillon, J.-M. 1985. Contribution à la connaissance de la végétation et de la flore de Wallis & Futuna. Bull. Mus. Natn. Hist. Nat., Paris, 4e sér., 7, section B. Adansonia 3 : 259-329.

National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.). 1991. Voucher specimen #PTBG11693(Art Whistler 8035).

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.

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.

Whistler, W. A. 1988. Checklist of the weed flora of western Polynesia. Technical Paper No. 194, South Pacific Commission, Noumea, New Caledonia. 69 pp.

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

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. 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).