Tripsacum laxum Nash, Poaceae

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Present on Pacific Islands?  yes

Primarily a threat at high elevations?  no

Other Latin names:  Tripsacum fasciculatum Trin. ex Asch.

Common name(s): [more details]

English: Guatemala grass

French: herbe de Guatemala

Spanish: Janeiro, pasto Guatemala

Habit:  grass

Description:  "Perennial; culms coarse, erect, commonly 2-3 meters high, branching from the upper nodes; sheaths glabrous; blades 2-6 cm wide, somewhat cordate, the margins scabrous; racemes usually solitary or in pairs, sometimes more in the terminal inflorescence; staminate spikelets about 8 mm long, the primary one of each pair sessile, the secondary pedicellate, the pedicel flattened, rather broad, about 2 mm long; pistillate portion of racemes thickish, the spikelets rather broadly ovate" (Swallen, 1955; pp. 363-364).

"Perennial, the culms stout, 3-3.6 m high, the nodes black, prominent; leaf blades 45-60 cm long, 7.5-10 cm broad, the margins scabrous; inflorescence 22-30 cm long, the spikes fascicled; spikelets 6-9 mm long, lacking an awn" (Smith, 1979; p. 389).

Description from GrassBase.

Habitat/ecology:  In Fiji, introduced as a fodder grass and persisting (Smith, 1979; p. 389).  In New Caledonia, "cultivé et spontané mais peu commun" (MacKee, 1994; p.63). In Guatemala, "edges of pine forests, slopes, and hilltops, up to 2,000 meters" (Swallen, 1955; pp. 363-364).

Propagation:  Seed

Native range:  Mexico (Smith, 1979; p. 389). Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador (Swallen, 1955; pp. 363-364).

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 cultivated	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 389) Vouchers cited: DA 5594, DA 9120
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 347) Vouchers cited: Florence 3492, Fosberg & Sachet 63198
French Polynesia Society Islands	Raiatea (Havai) Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Vouchers cited: J. Florence 3492 (PAP), F.R. Fosberg & M.-H. Sachet 63198 (PAP) Adventice
French Polynesia Society Islands	Tahiti Island	introduced invasive cultivated	Welsh, S. L. (1998) (p. 347) Voucher cited: Fosberg 62762
French Polynesia Austral (Tubuai) Islands	Rurutu Island	introduced invasive	Florence, J./Chevillotte, H./Ollier, C./Meyer, J.-Y. (2011) Adventice
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced cultivated	Stone, Benjamin C. (1970) (p. 240) Introduced experimenally in 1920.
Guam Guam Island	Guam Island	introduced	Fosberg, F. R./Sachet, Marie-Hélène/Oliver, Royce (1987) (p. 62)
New Caledonia New Caledonia Archipelago	Île Grande Terre	introduced invasive cultivated	MacKee, H. S. (1994) (p. 63) Voucher cited: MacKee 39363
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced cultivated	Sykes, W. R. (1970) (p. 253) Voucher cited: CHR 188599
Niue Niue	Niue Island	introduced invasive	Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate (2004) (p. 47)
Philippines Philippine Islands	Philippine Islands		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 141)
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands	Solomon Islands	introduced cultivated	Hancock, I. R./Henderson, C. P. (1988) (p. 116)

Pacific Rim
Country/Terr./St. & Island group	Location	Cited status & Cited as invasive & Cited as cultivated & Cited as aboriginal introduction?	Reference & Comments
Colombia Colombia	Colombia (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 370)
Costa Rica Costa Rica	Costa Rica (Republic of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 370)
Guatemala Guatemala	Guatemala (Republic of)	native	U.S. Dept. Agr., Agr. Res. Serv. (2011)
Indonesia Indonesia	Indonesia (Republic of)		Hafliger, Ernst/Scholz, Hildemar (1980) (p. 141)
Malaysia Malaysia	Malaysia (country of)		Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. (1979) (p. 370)
Mexico Mexico	Mexico (United Mexican States)	native	Smith, Albert C. (1979) (p. 389)

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

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

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

References:

Charles Darwin Foundation. 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos, Ecuador.

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

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

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

Holm, Leroy/Pancho, Juan V./Herberger, James P./Plucknett, Donald L. 1979. A geographical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley & Sons, New York. 391 pp.

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

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

Space, James C./Waterhouse, Barbara M./Newfield, Melanie/Bull, Cate. 2004. Report to the Government of Niue and the United Nations Development Programme: Invasive plant species on Niue following Cyclone Heta. UNDP NIU/98/G31 - Niue Enabling Activity. 80 pp.

Stone, Benjamin C. 1970. The flora of Guam. Micronesica 6:1-659.

Swallen, Jason R./McClure, F. A. 1955. Flora of Guatemala. Grasses of Guatemala. Fieldiana: Botany. Vol. 24, Part II. Chicago Natural History Museum. 390 pp.

Sykes, W. R. 1970. Contributions to the flora of Niue. New Zealand Department of Scientific and Industrial Research Bulletin 200, Wellington. 321 pp.

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

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.