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