E. japonica is an annual or short-lived perennial grass. Culms erect, or geniculate at base, 30–100 cm tall, 1.5–2.5 mm in diameter, 3–4-noded. Leaf sheaths usually loose, longer than internodes, glabrous;ligules scarious, approximately 0.5 mm, fimbriate at apex, pubescent on back;leaf blades flat, 3–25 × 0.3–0.5 cm, smooth and glabrous. Panicle elongated, 6–34 × 1.5–6 cm;branches slender, clustered or verticillate, glabrous in axils. Spikelets usually purplish at maturity, ovate, 1–2 mm, 4–8-flowered;rachilla distarticulating between florets from top downward at maturity. Glumes chartaceous, ovate-lanceolate, subequal, 0.6–0.8 mm, 1-veined, apex obtuse. Lemmas chartaceous, broadly elliptical, distinctly 3-veined, apex obtuse, lower lemma approximately 1 mm. Palea subequal to lemma, along 2 keels ciliolate. Stamens 2;anthers approximately 0.2 mm. Caryopsis red-brown, ovoid, 0.4–0.5 mm (Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2016;Flora of Pakistan, 2016).
Related invasive species
- Eragrostis japonica
Related Farm Practice
- Flora
Related location
- Pakistan
E. japonica is a good fodder grass cultivated for pasture in tropical and subtropical regions (Kumar, 2013;USDA-ARS, 2016). It has escaped from cultivation and naturalized principally in disturbed sites. This species behaves as a weed in abandoned pastures, cultivated land, disturbed sites, waste areas, and along roadsides and riparian areas (Barkworth et al., 2004;Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2016;PIER, 2016;PROTA, 2016). Currently, it is listed as invasive in Argentina, Brazil, and Cuba (Zuloaga et al., 2008;Oviedo Prieto et al., 2012;I3N-Brasil, 2016). It is well adapted to grow in seasonally waterlogged conditions and can be found growing in floodplain grassland and swampy grassland (Flora of Pakistan, 2016).