Paspalum plicatulum Michx., Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Common name(s): [more details]

Chinese: zhou fu que bai

English: brownseed paspalum, circularfruited birdseed

Spanish: camalote, pajilla, zacatón

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Culms erect, 60-12 cm. high; leaf blades 15-35 cm. long, 3-7 mm. broad, the margin ciliate near junction with sheath; racemes 5-10, regularly spaced, alternate, ascending, 4-6 cm. long; spikelets irregularly arranged in 3 rows, sparsely pubescent, 2.5-3 mm long, the lower lemma with short transverse wrinkles inside the raised margin"  (Smith, 1979; p. 336).

"Habit: Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short. Culms erect, or geniculately ascending; 30-120 cm long. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 2-3 mm long. Leaf-blades flat, or conduplicate; 15-30 cm long; 2-7 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface glabrous, or pilose. Leaf-blade apex acuminate. Inflorescence composed of racemes. Racemes 2-7; borne along a central axis; unilateral; 2-15 cm long. Central inflorescence axis 3-15 cm long. Rhachis wingless; angular; 1 mm wide. Spikelet packing irregular; 2-4 -rowed. Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Fertile spikelets: Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic, or obovate; dorsally compressed; plano-convex; obtuse; 2.3-3.2 mm long; falling entire. Glumes one the lower absent or obscure; reaching apex of florets; thinner than fertile lemma. Upper glume ovate; 1 times length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 5 -veined. Upper glume surface glabrous, or puberulous. Upper glume apex obtuse. Florets:  Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to upper glume; ovate; 1 times length of spikelet; membranous; thicker on margins; 5 -veined; wrinkled; glabrous, or puberulous; obtuse. Fertile lemma ovate; gibbous; 2-3 mm long; indurate; dark brown; without keel. Lemma surface granulose. Lemma margins involute. Lemma apex obtuse. Palea involute; indurate. GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  "Introduced into Fiji in 1957 for trial as a pasture grass"  (Smith, 1979; p. 336).  In New Caledonia, "en pâturages et parfois spontané sans être commun"  (MacKee 1994; p. 61).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  "The warmer parts of North and South America and the West Indies"  (Smith, 1979; p. 336).

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	Vanua Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 336) Vouchers cited: DA 15294, DA 15391
Fiji Fiji Islands	Viti Levu Island	introduced cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 336) Voucher cited: DA 12581
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 61) Voucher cited: MacKee 38686
Wallis and Futuna Wallis and Futuna (Horne) Islands	Wallis (‘Uvea) Island	introduced cultivated	Morat, Ph./Veillon, J.-M. (1985) Morat & Veillon, 1985, cited in Meyer, 2007

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)	introduced cultivated	Zhengyi, Wu/Raven, Peter H./Deyuan, Hong (2011) Cultivated in Gansu.
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
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)
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)
Panama Panama	Panama (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Perú Perú	Perú (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)

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

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

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

References:

Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar. 1980. Grass weeds, vol. 1. CIBA-GEIGY Ltd., Basle, Switzerland. 142 pp. + plates.

MacKee, H. S. 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, 164 p.

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.

Smith, Albert C. 1979. Flora Vitiensis nova: a new flora of Fiji. National Tropical Botanical Garden, Lawai, Kauai, Hawaii. Volume 1. 494 pp.

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).