An annual or short-lived perennial grass growing 20-150 cm in height. Culms (stems) root from the lower nodes, but stems are held upright. The leaf blades are flat, 5-30 cm long;2-10 mm wide. The flowers are clustered in a fluffy oblong or ovate panicle, 5-20 cm long (Langeland et al. 2008;Clayton et al., 2012). Spikelets 2-10 mm long, 2-flowered, the lower floret male, the upper hermaphrodite, densely villous with hairs up to 8 mm long, on very fine pedicels with sparse long hairs. Panicles often have a rosy colour from the long silky hairs attached to the triangular fruits. The colour fades to silvery-white with age (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, 2012).
Related invasive species
- Melinis repens
Related Farm Practice
- Cropping systems
- Hosts
Related location
- Zambia
- Brazil
Melinis repens, commonly known as Natal grass, is a short-lived perennial grass native to South Africa, the Arabian peninsula, India, the Seychelles island and Canary Islands. It is already widely distributed in tropical and subtropical regions due to its long use as a pasture grass and ornamental plant. Although considered a weed in many countries, it is not currently regulated. Wind disperses the seeds locally and long distance dispersal happens through the plant and seed trade. It mainly occurs in disturbed areas such as along roadsides and railway lines, but it can spread into natural areas interfering with early successional processes. It is mainly considered invasive in natural grasslands and shrublands. Holm et al. (1979) list it as a ‘serious’ weed in Australia, Brazil and Ghana, and ‘principal’ in Malaysia and Zambia. The dry biomass of the plant leads to an increase in fire frequencies and its dense growth crowds out native early successional species. Currently the main uses promoted for the plant are for reclaiming mined sites and planting as an ornamental plant.
M. repens is considered a significant weed in small-scale cropping systems in northern Zambia (Afors, 1994) and in cotton fields in Brazil (Vieira et al., 1998). It is controlled in citrus crops (Wilcox and Taylor, 1992).