Isachne globosa (Thunb.) Kuntze, Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Risk assessment results:  Reject, score: 18 (Go to the risk assessment)

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: liu ye ruo

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Annual or short-lived perennial; culms 5-60 cm tall, erect or decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes, the internodes cylindrical, hollow, glabrous, the nodes glabrous or pilose.  Sheaths rounded, usually glabrous, one margin ciliate, the collar usually glabrous, sometimes pubescent; ligule 1-3 mm long; blades 2-8 cm long, 4-14 mm wide, lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, flat, acuminate, scabrous, sometimes pubescent on one or both surfaces, the margin scabrous. Panicle 3-12 cm long, the branches ascending to widely spreading, glabrous or scabrous, the pedicels with glandular spots or bands, the pulvini glabrous.  Spikelets 1.8-2.5 mm long, subglobose, obtuse, green or purplish; lower glume 1.6-2.4 mm long, ovate, obtuse, (5)-7-9 nerved, usually scabrous in the upper half sometimes with a few setae, the margin broadly hyaline; upper glume 1.4-2.1 mm long, slightly shorter than the lower, nearly orbicular, obtuse to emarginate, 7-11-nerved, usually scabrous in the upper half, the margin broadly hyaline; lower floret staminate, nearly membranous, 1.8-2.6 mm long, 0.9-1.3 mm wide, distinctly longer than the upper floret, broadly elliptic, glabrous, grooved on the back; upper floret pistillate, indurate, 1.4-2.4 mm long, 0.9-1.3 mm wide, broadly elliptic to ovate-elliptic, densely puberulent, stigmas purple; anthers 1.2-1.8 mm long; caryopsis suborbicular in outline, plano-convex, 1.0-1.1 mm long, 0.9-1.0 mm wide, dark reddish brown" (Dassanayake, 1994; pp. 265-266).

"Semiprostrate, with erect flowering culms 15-90 cm high; sheaths fairly loose, the leaf blades tapering to a rounded apex, the margins scabrous; panicle compact, 6-8 cm long, the racemes 6-18 mm long; spikelets rounded, the glumes ciliate along margins and nerves" (Smith, 1979; pp. 364-365).

Description from GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, "noted at only two localities at very diverse elevations, 800 m and sea level respectively.  At the higher elevation the species was found in open, sunny, swampy ground near a creek" (Smith, 1979; pp. 364-365).  In Sri Lanka, "in marshy habitats, rice fields, stream banks, ditches, from sea level to 1,800 m elevation" (Dassanayake, 1994; pp. 265-266).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Eastern Asia (Smith, 1979; pp. 364-365). Fosberg et al. (1987; p. 45) 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
Federated States of Micronesia Chuuk Islands	Dublon (Tonowas) Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. (1982) (p. 54) Var. ciliaris Ohwi; vouchers cited: Hatusima 10710 (FU, isotype), Hosaka 2759 (US, BISH, POM, K, MO, CANB, L)
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 45)
Federated States of Micronesia Yap Islands	Yap (Waqab) Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. (1982) (p. 54) Voucher cited: Kanehira & Hatusima 4353 (KYO)
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (pp. 364-365) Vouchers cited: Greenwood 1178, DA 7597
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 45)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Babeldaob Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. (1982) (p. 54) Vouchers cited: Hosokawa 7387 (US), Kanehira & Hatusima 4548 (KYO)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 45)
Palau Palau (main island group)	Koror Island	native	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. (1982) (p. 54) Voucher cited: Kanehira & Hatusima 4429 (KYO)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	Henty, E. E. (1969) (p. 114) Common on wet soil in grassland, garden clearings, etc., from about 3000 to 7000 ft.
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	Merrill, Elmer D. (1925) (p. 59) In swamps about Lake Lanao, altitude about 650 m.
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 93)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	native	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 83)

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)	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. 339) On grasslands.
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)
North Korea North Korea	North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
South Korea South Korea	South Korea (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)
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Edgar, E./Connor, H. (2000) (p. 596) "Edges of swamps and lake margins, often partly submerged, sometimes in deep gullies, coastal".
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 66)
Singapore Singapore	Singapore (Republic of)	uncertain if introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 51) Weed of uncertain origin
Taiwan Taiwan	Taiwan Island	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Thailand Thailand	Thailand (Kingdom of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 66)
Vietnam Vietnam	Vietnam (Socialist Republic of)		Waterhouse, D. F. (1993) (p. 66)

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

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

Taxonomic information about Isachne globosa 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.

Dassanayake, M. D., gen. ed. 1994. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. Vol VIII. Amerind Pub. Co., New Delhi. 458 pp.

Edgar, E./Connor, H. 2000. Flora of New Zealand, vol. V: Gramineae. Manaaki Whenua Press. .

Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, M.-H. 1982. Micronesian Poaceae: Critical and distributional notes. Micronesica 18(2):45-102.

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

Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. 1988. Flora of the Solomon Islands. Research Bulletin No. 7. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Honiara. 203 pp.

Henty, E. E. 1969. A manual of the grasses of New Guinea. Department of Forests, Division of Botany, Botany Bull. No. 1. Lae, New Guinea. 215 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.

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.

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.

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).