I. cylindrica is a perennial grass which varies in height (30-150 cm). The culms (above-ground stems) are short, erect and arise from rhizomes (underground stems). The rhizomes are tough, white, commonly 1 m long but can be considerably more, are extensively branched and covered with papery scale leaves at the nodes. Roots are fibrous, emerging from the base of the culm and the nodes on the rhizome. Leaves are stiff, linear-lanceolate, up to 120 cm long and 4-18 mm wide, with a prominent, off-centre, whitish midrib, scabrid margin and pointed tip. The ligule is an inconspicuous membrane. The inflorescence is a white, spike-like panicle, terminal, fluffy, 5-20 cm long and up to 2.5 cm in diameter. Spikelets are numerous, 3.5-5.0 mm long, each surrounded by a basal ring of silky hairs 10 mm long. The grain is oblong, pointed, brown and 1-1.5 mm long.
Related invasive species
- Imperata cylindrica
Related Farm Practice
- Hosts
I. cylindrica is a serious weed not only in crops but also in natural areas, causing serious economic and environmental damage. The ability of I. cylindrica to effectively compete for water and nutrients, spread and persist through the production of seeds and rhizomes that can survive a wide range of environmental conditions, and its allelopathic effects and pyrogenic nature, allow it to exclude native plant species and other desirable plants and dominate large areas of land.
I. cylindrica is a weed of 35 crops worldwide (Holm et al., 1977) and 21 crops in West Africa (Chikoye et al., 2000). Some examples are cited in the list of hosts but most crops of the high rainfall tropics are likely to be affected by this weed.