Family: Poaceae

High Risk Traits:

• Elevation range exceeds 1000 m, demonstrating environmental versatility
  
• Thrives in tropical climates
  
• Naturalized in the Hawaiian Islands and elsewhere
  
• A disturbance-adapted grass
  
• A weed of several agricultural crops of the tropics
  
• An environmental weed
  
• Other Setaria species have become invasive
  
• Host of plant pests and pathogens
  
• Covered with irritating hairs
  
• Shade-tolerant
  
• Tolerates many soil types
  
• Forms dense ground cover and excludes other vegetation
  
• Reproduces by seed
  
• Seeds dispersed by gravity, water, as a contaminant, animals and intentionally by people
  
• Tolerates fire and able to resprout after cutting
  
• No effective biocontrol agents known

Low Risk Traits:

• Palatable to animals and edible to people
  
• Limited vegetative spread
  
• Herbicides may provide effective control