Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: hei zi shui wu gong

Fijian: tanivori

Habit:  sedge

Description:  "Rhizome horizontal, lignescent, covered with dark brown scales; culms close together, arranged in a row along the rhizome, 30-100 cm tall, 2.5-4 mm thick, clothed at base with purple-brown sheaths; leaves mostly reduced to bladeless sheaths 2-5 cm long, the uppermost 1 or 2 sometimes developing a short blade about 3 mm broad; inflorescence a single terminal greenish spike, ovoid to subglobose, 6-12 mm long, 6-8 mm across; leafy bracts usually 3, patent; spikelets many, densely disposed, narrowly elliptic, about 3 mm long, 1- or 2-flowerd; glumes lance-ovate, pale straw-colored, often tinged with brown, 3-nerved, often spinulose on the acute keel, mucronate at apex; stamens 3; achene 1/2-1/3 as long as the subtending glume, oblong, lenticular, maturing blackish; style long, 2-fid at apex" (Smith, 1979; p. 260).

Habitat/ecology:  In China (native), "places along trails, water margins, sandy areas; below 100-1000 m" (Flora of China online).  In Fiji, "a naturalized adventive occurring sparingly in southern Viti Levu from near sea level to 460 m, in open swampy places along forest streams, on river banks, in forest clearings, and occasionally along roadsides" (Smith, 1979; p. 260).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "Tropical Africa, southern and southeastern Asia, and eastward to Melanesia" (Smith, 1979; p. 260).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced invasive	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 260) Vouchers cited: Degener 15181, DA 8640, DA 9197 (McKee 2760), Smith 8570, DA 1401, DA 1445
New Caledonia New Caledonia	New Caledonia Islands		Swarbrick, John T. (1997) (p. 93)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	Tassin, Jacques (2005)
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	Papua New Guinea (eastern New Guinea Island)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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)	native	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011)
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)	uncertain if introduced invasive	Chong, Kwek Yan/Tan, Hugh T. W./Corlett, Richard T. (2009) (p. 53) Weed of uncertain origin

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

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

Taxonomic information about Kyllinga melanosperma 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.

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.

Tassin, Jacques. 2005. Jacques Tassin (IAC-CIRAD), personal communication.

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

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