Lolium perenne L., Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Lolium boucheanum Kunth; Lolium marschallii Steven

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: hei mai cao

English: English ryegrass, perennial ryegrass

French: ivraie vivace, ray-grass anglais

Japanese: hoso-mugi

Korean: homilpul

Spanish: ballia inglesa, ballico, ballico perenne, césped inglés, raygras, raygras inglés, villico

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Perennial with numerous basal innovations; culms ascending or erect, (3-) 4-9 dm tall, glabrous and smooth.  Basal leaves forming tufts up to 1.5-3 dm tall; sheaths smooth, auricles well-developed, crescent-shaped, up to 1.5 (-2) mm long; ligule entire, 0.5-1.5 mm long; blades narrowly linear, 1-3 (-4) mm wide, glabrous and smooth, sometimes scaberulous.  Spikes erect, narrow, (8-) 10-20 (-25) cm long; spikelets (3-) 5-7 (-11)-flowered, (8-) 9.5-15 (-20) mm long; second glume linear-lanceolate to ovate, (4-) 6-10 (-12) mm long, nearly as long as the spikelet, 7-9-nerved, with 3-5 of the nerves more prominent; lemmas (4-) 5-7 (-8) mm long, glabrous, margins membranous, apex obtuse to acute, awnless; palea nearly as long as lemma, 2-nerved, keeled, the keels slightly winged, ciliate, apex acute.  Caryopsis reddish brown, ellipsoid, strongly flattened, 2.5-3 mm long" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1561).

Description from GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  "Heath- and shrubland, riparian habitats, freshwater wetlands, coastal beaches.  In Europe, this grass is frequently found in grassland, pastures, meadows and disturbed places.  Where invasive, it spreads quickly and forms dense swards that displace native grass and forb species and reduce species richness.  The grass is highly competitive" (Weber, 2003; p. 241).

In Hawai‘i, "naturalized and common in grasslands and pastures, 850-2,440 m" (Wagner et al., 1999; p. 1561).  In New Caledonia, "se rencontre à présent comme mauvaise herbe peu commune autour de Nouméa"  (MacKee, 1994; p. 60).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Europe, Africa, Asia; cultivated and naturalized elsewhere (GRIN).

Presence:

Pacific
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Australia (Pacific offshore islands) Norfolk Islands	Norfolk Island	introduced cultivated	Orchard, Anthony E., ed. (1994) (p. 12) "Introduced and widely grown as a pasture grass". Vouchers cited: W.R. Sykes NI 792 (CHR), W.R. Sykes NI 841 (CHR)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Atkinson, Rachel/Sawyer, John (2011)
Chile (offshore islands) Juan Fernández Islands	Isla Más a Tierra (Robinson Crusoe Island)	introduced invasive	Danton, Philippe/Perrier, Christophe/Martinez Reyes, Guido (2006) (p. 555)
Ecuador (Galápagos Islands) San Cristóbal Group	San Cristóbal Island	introduced cultivated	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Hawai‘i (Big) Island	introduced invasive	Wagner, Warren L./Herbst, Derral R./Sohmer, S. H. (1999) (p. 1561) Voucher cited: Rock 3179 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	Maui Island	introduced invasive	Starr, Forest/Starr, Kim/Loope, Lloyd L. (2003) (p. 30) East Maui. Vouchers cited: Starr & Martz 001026-2 (BISH), Oppenheimer H50123 (BISH)
State of Hawaii Hawaiian Islands	O‘ahu Island	introduced invasive	Frohlich, Danielle/Lau, Alex (2008) (p. 8) Voucher cited: A. Lau & D. Frohlich 2007040 (BISH)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 60) Voucher cited: MacKee 16022

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)	New South Wales	introduced invasive cultivated	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2013) "Grown as a pasture species and planted in recreation areas; often on roadsides. " Naturalised
Australia Australia (continental)	Australia (continental)	introduced invasive	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2013) South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia Naturalised
Australia Australia (continental)	Northern Territory	introduced invasive	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2013) Naturalised
Australia Australia (continental)	Queensland	introduced invasive	National Herbarium of New South Wales (2013) Naturalised
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Costa Rica (Republic of)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Guatemala (Republic of)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Honduras (Republic of)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
Central America Central America (Pacific rim)	Panama (Republic of)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
China China	China (People's Republic of)	introduced invasive cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2013) Meadows, grassy places, moist roadsides. Commonly cultivated in China.
China China	Hong Kong	introduced	Wu, Te-lin (2001) (p. 340)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 101)
Japan Japan	Japan	introduced	Mito, Toshikazu/Uesugi, Tetsuro (2004) (p. 192)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
New Zealand New Zealand	New Zealand (country)	introduced invasive	Edgar, E./Connor, H. (2000) (p. 126) "Roadsides and tracks, pasture, river flats and banks, waste land and sand dunes; lowland to montane".
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Chile (Republic of)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Ecuador (Republic of) (continental)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
South America (Pacific rim) South America (Pacific rim)	Perú (Republic of)	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
Taiwan Taiwan Island	Taiwan Island		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 219)

Indian Ocean
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island	introduced invasive	Topp, J. M. W. (1988) (p. 17)
British Indian Ocean Territory Chagos Archipelago	Diego Garcia Island	introduced invasive	Whistler, W. Arthur (1996) (p. 25)
La Réunion (France) La Réunion Island	La Réunion Island	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized
Mauritius Mautitius Islands (Mauritius and Rodrigues)	Mauritius Island	introduced invasive	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2013) Naturalized

Comments:  Introduced to Fiji in 1934 but did not become established in trial plots (Smith, 1979; p. 391).

Control: 

Physical:  Hand pull or dig out scattered plants.

Chemical:  Spray with herbicide (Weber, 2003; p. 241).