Family: Poaceae

Origin, Description & Uses:
Cynodon dactylon, commonly known as Bermuda grass, is a warm-season grass native to Africa but now widely cultivated worldwide. It forms dense mats of low-growing, spreading stems and fine, bright green leaves, making it highly valued for lawns, sports fields, and erosion control. Bermuda grass is drought-tolerant and establishes quickly, which has contributed to its popularity in landscaping and agricultural settings across tropical and subtropical regions, including Hawaii.

Risks, Threats & Management:
Although Bermuda grass is already naturalized on all the main Hawaiian Islands and widely used for its horticultural and practical benefits, it is considered High Risk because it can outcompete native plants and alter natural habitats. Its aggressive growth, ability to spread via stolons and rhizomes, and resilience to disturbance allow it to dominate open areas, threatening native ecosystems. Management focuses on minimizing its impact near sensitive habitats, using containment strategies, and promoting native or low-risk alternatives wherever possible, while acknowledging that its continued use in landscaping is likely to persist.

High Risk Traits:

• Broad climate suitability – occurs at varied elevations
  
• Environmental versatility – thrives under disturbance
  
• Naturalized – widely naturalized beyond native range
  
• Agricultural weed – serious weed in multiple crops
  
• Disturbance weed – weedy in gardens, roadsides, landscaping
  
• Congeneric weed – other Cynodon species invasive
  
• Allelopathic – inhibits growth of other plants
  
• Pest/disease host – hosts fungi, viruses, nematodes, insects
  
• Allergenic – high pollen causes hay fever
  
• Wide soil tolerance – variable texture and pH
  
• Vegetative spread – aggressive via rhizomes, stolons, fragments
  
• Fast maturity – reproduces <1 year
  
• Unintentional dispersal – via animals, machinery, hay, water
  
• Contaminant – spreads via contaminated soil/hay
  
• Water-dispersed – rhizomes survive submersion
  
• External animal dispersal – fragments on hooves, fur
  
• Gut survival – seeds viable after livestock ingestion
  
• Persistent seed bank – seeds viable ≥2 years
  
• Difficult to control – benefits from fire; tillage spreads fragments
  
• Herbicide tolerance – requires repeated applications

Low Risk Traits:

• Palatable – highly palatable to livestock
  
• Non-toxic – rare toxicity issues
  
• No spines/thorns/burrs
  
• Shade-intolerant – dies out under shade
  
• Self-incompatible – most biotypes require cross-pollination
  
• Limited seed production – many biotypes sterile or sparse seed
  
• Herbicide sensitive – glyphosate effective with proper timing