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A. hispidus is sometimes considered to be perennial, as in Bhutan where it is described as ‘usually perennial’ (Noltie, 2000), but it is more commonly described as annual. It is a sprawling plant, rooting at the nodes with flowering stems up to 30 cm high;nodes hairy. Leaves are relatively short and broad, narrowly obovate up to 5 cm long and 15 mm wide, auricled at the base and acutely tipped, variably glabrous or hairy on the margins. Ligule 0.5-3 mm. Inflorescence a set of up to 10 or more racemes, up to 5 cm long, pale green or purple, variously glabrous to shortly hairy. Sessile spikelet up to 7 mm long;lower glume lanceolate, convex, 6-9-nerved with scabrid veins. Upper glume slightly longer with awn up to 11 mm long in typical forms but may be much shorter and hardly exserted. Pedicelled spikelet occasionally present at the tip of the raceme, but usually absent with pedicel a stump up to 2 mm long. Anthers 2, about 1 mm long.

Related invasive species

  • Arthraxon hispidus

Related Farm Practice

  • Orchards
  • Damage
  • Rooting

Related location

  • Bhutan
Impact

A. hispidus is a sprawling grass, native to East and Southern Asia, and Africa. It has been widely introduced across North and Central America and the Caribbean, and was first recorded in the USA in the 1870s. In West Virginia and in Maryland, USA, A. hispidus is seen as a potential competitor to the endangered species Ptilimnium nodosum;Over the past decade, this aggressive grass has become widespread in many parts of the state (W. Virginia). As an annual it can compete directly…. for occupation of ephemeral habitat;without control, A. hispidus could overrun and locally extirpate P. nodosum. ’ (US Fish and Wildlife Service, 1990;1998). It is listed as an invasive weed in a number of other states of USA, such as Kentucky (Louisville Water Company, 2013). Although widespread as a weed elsewhere, it has not otherwise been described as invasive, while in Australia it is itself treated as a threatened species (Australia, 2013).

Has Cabi datasheet ID
112458
Hosts

A. hispidus occurs in tea fields, orchards, grasslands and gardens, but no serious damage has been recorded. It is a weed of direct-seeded, dry-sown rice in Korea (Ku et al., 1993).

Oss tagged
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