Fimbristylis littoralis Gaudich., Cyperaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Fimbristylis miliacea (L.) Vahl, nom. rej.

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: shui shi cao

English: fimbry, grass-like fimbristylis, lesser fimbristylis

Filipino: ubod-ubod

Japanese: hideriké

Palauan: kerngimes kederang

Pohnpeian: lingkerekenwel

Spanish: barba de fraile

Habit:  sedge

Description:  "Annual or occasionally apparently biennial, densely tufted, without rhizome; culms 10-50 cm tall, 1-5 mm broad below, flattened-4-sided with 2 sharp edges, smooth, glabrous, leaved at base; few upper leaves bladed, the lower leaves cataphylloid; blades laterally compressed, shorter than to surpassing culm, gradually narrowed to a long, acuminate apex, 1-4 mm broad at base, light green, soft; sheaths laterally flattened, greenish or the lower ones pale or tinged with rusty- or dusky-brown, obliquely truncate at orifice with membranous margins; corymbs ample, decompound, open, subdense to subloose with numerous spikelets, 3-8 cm long and broad; bracts 2-4, setaceous, 1/2 to 1/3 the length of rays, the dilated base with brown, membranous margins; rays 3-7, unequal, patent, 1-5 cm long, scabrid; spikelets solitary, ovoid-globular to globular, 1.5-5 mm long, 1.5-3 mm broad, rounded at both ends, rusty-brown, densely many-flowered; glumes patent, broadly ovate, 1-1.2 mm long, obtuse at apex, membranous, reddish brown, broadly white-hyaline on margins, the 3-nerved keel ending below apex; achenes broadly obovate, trigonous, 0.75-1 mm long, cream-yellow, cancellate with rows of fine, transversely oblong cells, usually sparsely verruculose; style slender, not fimbriate, about 0.7 mm long; stigmas 3, as long as style; anthers 0.6-0.7 mm long" (Smith, 1979; pp. 242-243).

Illustration by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) courtesy Ecoport.

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "presumably a naturalized adventive, locally abundant and often forming extensive stands in open swampy land or in standing water in drains.  It is frequent in rice fields, swampy cultivated areas, and wet pastures"  (Smith, 1979; pp. 242-243).  "Uncommon in wet places" (Whistler, 1988; p. 42).

Propagation:  Seed.  "[It] is eaten by cattle, the seeds passing through their digestive tracts mostly undigested and germinating near droppings"  (Holm et al., 1977; p. 277).

Native range:  "Tropical and subtropical regions of both hemispheres, extending in eastern Asia to north temperate areas of Japan and China" (Smith, 1979; pp. 242-243). Fosberg et al. (1987; p. 73) list 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
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (US) Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (pp. 72-73)
Federated States of Micronesia Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (pp. 72-73)
Federated States of Micronesia Kosrae Island	Kosrae Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2005) (voucher ID: PTBG 44896) Taxon name on voucher: Fimbristylis littoralis
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Kapingamarangi Atoll	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (pp. 72-73)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (pp. 72-73)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island		Glassman, S. F. (1952) (p. 123) Vouchers cited: Glassman 2413 (US), Kanehira 678 (BISH)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island	native	Herrera, Katherine/Lorence, David H./Flynn, Timothy/Balick, Michael J. (2010) (p. 43) Vouchers cited: S. F. Glassman 2413 (BISH), R. Kanehira 678 (BISH), D.H. Lorence 9431 (PTBG), L. Stemmermann 2939 (BISH), M. Takamatsu 904 (PTBG), M. Takamatsu 1024 (PTBG), N.S. Tangalin 1159 (PTBG), N.S. Tangalin 1263 (PTBG)
Federated States of Micronesia Pohnpei Islands	Pohnpei Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (1936) (voucher ID: PTBG 45148) Taxon name on voucher: Fimbristylis littoralis
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Ifalik (Ifaluk) Atoll	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (pp. 72-73)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Vanua Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 242-243) Vouchers cited: DA 1582, Greenwood 584
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 242-243) Vouchers cited: DA 1492, Smith 9408, DA 9181 (McKee 2744A), DA 2848, DA 7879, DA 8398, DA 7635, Greenwood 329, DA 10572, DA 5939
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 317) as Fimbristylis miliacea Vahl, vouchers cited: Florence 2641, BRY 26314
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) As Fimbristylis miliacea Vahl, vouchers cited: J. Florence 2641 (PAP), J. Florence 2253 (PAP) Adventice
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	native	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 174) Voucher cited: Stone 4477 (GUAM), Moore 143, Rodin 765
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (pp. 72-73)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. (2000) (p. 12) Voucher cited: C. Imada 99-29 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Kaua‘i Island	introduced invasive	Strong, Mark T./Wagner, Warren L. (1997) (pp. 45-46) Vouchers cited: Herbst 5952 (Bish, US), Flynn 1237 (BISH, PTBG, US), Flynn & Lorence 2183 (BISH, PTBG, US), Wagner & Lorence 5998 (BISH, US), Texeira s.n. (US)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Oppenheimer, Hank L. (2003) (p. 11) East Maui. Voucher cited: Oppenheimer H110117 (BISH, PTBG)
Japan (offshore islands) Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands	Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands		Kato, Hidetoshi (2007)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (pp. 72-73)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island		Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.) (1996) (voucher ID: BNM 26565) Taxon name on voucher: Fimbristylis littoralis Gaud.
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (pp. 72-73)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island		National Tropical Botanical Garden (U.S.A. Hawaii. Kalaheo.) (2008) (voucher ID: PTBG 49746) Taxon name on voucher: Fimbristylis littoralis
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Merrill, Elmer D. (1925) (p. 124) In open wet places; a characteristic rice-paddy weed.
Samoa Western Samoa Islands	Upolu Island		Whistler, W. A. (1988) (p. 42) Not common.
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
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	introduced invasive	Holm, Leroy G./Plucknett, D. L./Pancho, J. V./Herberger, J. P. (1977) (p. 278)
Cambodia Cambodia	Cambodia (Kingdom of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)
China China	China (People's Republic of)	native	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 242-243)
China China	Hong Kong	native	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 314) As Fimbristylis miliacea (L.)Vahl. In paddy fields and other wet places.
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)
Japan Japan	Japan (country)	native	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 242-243)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Holm, Leroy G./Plucknett, D. L./Pancho, J. V./Herberger, J. P. (1977) (p. 277)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)
Negara Brunei Darussalam Brunei	Brunei (Negara Brunei Darussalam)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy G./Plucknett, D. L./Pancho, J. V./Herberger, J. P. (1977) (p. 278)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	uncertain if introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 43) Weed of uncertain origin
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	introduced invasive	Holm, Leroy G./Plucknett, D. L./Pancho, J. V./Herberger, J. P. (1977) (p. 277)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)	introduced invasive	Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (pp. 66, 77)

Comments:  Recently established in Hawai‘i (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1899).

Control: 

Biological:  Waterhouse (1994, pp. 110-111) lists natural enemies of the species.

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

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

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

References:

Beleu National Museum (Republic of Palau. Koror.). 1996. Voucher specimen #BNM26565(Rinehart, A.F. LR26565).

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.

Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. 2011. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP). (online resource).

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.

Glassman, S. F. 1952. The flora of Ponape. Bishop Mus. Bull. 209: 1-152.

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 G./Plucknett, D. L./Pancho, J. V./Herberger, J. P. 1977. The world’s worst weeds: distribution and biology. East-West Center/University Press of Hawaii. 609 pp.

Imada, Clyde T./Staples, George W./Herbst, Derral R. 2000. New Hawaiian plant records for 1999. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1999. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 63:9-16.

Kato, Hidetoshi. 2007. Herbarium records of Makino Herbarium, Tokyo Metropolitan University. Personal communication.

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

Oppenheimer, Hank L. 2003. New plant records from Maui and Hawai‘i Counties. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Eldredge, Lucius G., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 2001-2002. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 73:3-30.

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.

Strong, Mark T./Wagner, Warren L. 1997. New and noteworthy Cyperaceae from the Hawaiian Islands. In: Evenhuis, Neal L. and Miller, Scott, E., eds. Records of the Hawaii Biological Survey for 1996. Part 1: Articles. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers. 48:37-50.

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.

Welsh, S. L. 1998. Flora Societensis: A summary revision of the flowering plants of the Society Islands. E.P.S. Inc., Orem, Utah. 420 pp.

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

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