Family: Poaceae

High Risk Traits:

• Grows, and able to spread, in regions with tropical climates
  
• Naturalized on main Hawaiian Islands, and elsewhere
  
• A weed of lawns, pastures, crops, and the natural environment
  
• Competes with and threatens native plants in the Hawaiian Islands
  
• Other species are invasive
  
• Shade-tolerant
  
• Tolerates many soil types
  
• Can form a smothering, dense ground cover
  
• Reproduces by seeds and vegetatively by stolons
  
• Reaches maturity in <1 year
  
• Seeds dispersed externally by sticking to clothing, fur, feathers or equipment
  
• Prolific seed production
  
• Seeds may persist in the soil for 2+ years

Low Risk Traits:

• Valued as a shade-tolerant grass in some situations
  
• Unarmed (no spines, thorns, or burrs)
  
• Palatable to grazing animals, although may not be a preferred forage
  
• Non-toxic
  
• Herbicides provide effective control
  
• Can be controlled mechanically, and killed by fires