Chloris virgata (feather finger grass)

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Title

Caption

Copyright

Habit

Chloris virgata (feather finger grass); seeding habit. Honokanaia, Kahoolawe, Hawaii, USA. February 2008.

©Forest & Kim Starr-2008 - CC BY 4.0

Habit

Chloris virgata (feather finger grass); seeding habit. Honokanaia, Kahoolawe, Hawaii, USA. February 2008.

©Forest & Kim Starr-2008 - CC BY 4.0

Seedheads

Chloris virgata (feather finger grass); seedheads. Honokanaia, Kahoolawe, Hawaii, USA. February 2008.

©Forest & Kim Starr-2008 - CC BY 4.0

Inflorescense

Chloris virgata (feather finger grass); close-up of inflorescense. Puu Pehe, Lanai, Hawaii, USA. April 2006.

©Forest & Kim Starr-2006 - CC BY 4.0

Identity

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Preferred Scientific Name

Chloris virgata Sw.

Preferred Common Name

feather finger grass

Other Scientific Names

Agrostomia barbata Cerv.
Chloris alba J.Presl
Chloris alba var. aristulata Torr.
Chloris albertii Regel
Chloris barbata var. decora (Steud.) Benth.
Chloris barbata var. meccana (Hochst. ex Steud.) Asch. and Schweinf.
Chloris caudata Trin.
Chloris compressa DC.
Chloris decora Nees ex Steud.
Chloris elegans Kunth
Chloris gabrielae Domin
Chloris madagascariensis Steud.
Chloris meccana Hochst. ex Steud.
Chloris multiradiata Hochst.
Chloris notocoma Hochst.
Chloris penicillata Jan ex Trin.
Chloris polydactyla subsp. multiradiata (Hochst.) Chiov.
Chloris pubescens Lag.
Chloris rogeonii A.Chev.
Chloris tibestica Quézel

International Common Names

English: feather windmill grass; feathertop grass; feathery grass; old land grass; sweet grass
Spanish: barba de chivo; barbas de indio; cebadilla; pasto blanco ; verdillo plumerito; zacate mota; zacate pluma
Chinese: hu wei cao

Local Common Names

Australia: feathertop Rhodes grass
Cuba: barba de indio
Kenya: blackseed grass
Mexico: escobilla; paragüitas; pastito de la motita; zacate cola de zorra
South Africa: feather-top chloris
USA: feather fingergrass

Summary of Invasiveness

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Chloris virgata is a widespread and very variable weedy annual grass (Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2015). This species is a particularly aggressive invader of bare areas and degraded or disturbed native vegetation, and it has the potential to out-compete native vegetation in these habitats (Smith, 2002; Oviedo Prieto et al., 2012; Weeds of Australia, 2015). This weedy grass spreads from cultivation, pastures, gardens, disturbed areas and roadsides to nearby disturbed forest, creeks and riversides, native grasslands and coastal habitats such as coastal forests and sand dunes (Weeds of Australia, 2015; FAO, 2015; PIER, 2015). It also grows as a weed in agricultural lands (Vibrans, 2009). Currently, this species is regarded as an invasive and environmental weed in northern Australia (i.e., Queensland and the Northern Territory; Weeds of Australia, 2015) and as an invasive grass in Cuba, Palau, New Caledonia, the Galapagos Islands, and Hawaii (Wagner et al., 1999; Charles Darwin Foundation, 2008; Oviedo Prieto et al., 2012; PIER, 2015).

Taxonomic Tree

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Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Spermatophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Monocotyledonae
Order: Cyperales
Family: Poaceae
Genus: Chloris
Species: Chloris virgata

Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature

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Poaceae is a species-diverse family in the Angiosperms including 707 genera and over 11,000 species widely distributed in all regions of the world (Stevens, 2012). The subfamily Chloridoideae includes 130 genera and about 1721 species, most abundant in dry, tropical and subtropical regions. Almost all species within this subfamily have a C₄ photosynthesis pathway. Chloris is a tropical to subtropical genus of 55-60 species. It is most abundant in the Southern Hemisphere. Species within this genus tolerate drought and saline conditions (Barkworth, 2003, Stevens, 2012).

Description

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The following description is taken from Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015):

Annual grass, culms tufted, erect or geniculately ascending, slightly flattened, 15–100 cm tall. Basal leaf sheaths strongly keeled, glabrous; leaf blades flat or folded, 5–30 cm, 2–7 mm wide, glabrous, adaxial surface scabrous, apex acuminate; ligule 0.5–1 mm, glabrous or ciliate. Racemes digitate, 5–12, erect or slightly slanting, 2–10 cm, silky, pale brown or tinged pink or purple; rachis scabrous or hispid. Spikelets with 2 or 3 florets, 2-awned; lower glume 1.8–2.2 mm; upper glume 3–4 mm, acuminate; lemma of fertile floret obovate-lanceolate in side view, 2.8–3.5 mm, keel gibbous, conspicuously bearded on upper margins with a spreading tuft of 2.5–3.5 mm silky hairs, margins, keel and flanks silky-ciliate or glabrous; awn 5–15 mm; second floret sterile, oblong, glabrous, awn 4–10 mm; third floret occasionally present, reduced to a small clavate scale, awnless.

Plant Type

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Annual
Grass / sedge
Seed propagated
Vegetatively propagated

Distribution

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C. virgata is a widespread species that grows in many habitats, from tropical to temperate areas with hot summers (Barkworth, 2003). The native distribution range of this grass species is still uncertain, however this datasheet follows the most widely accepted view among botanists that considers this species as native to the Americas, occurring naturally from the United States in North America to Argentina in South America, and introduced elsewhere (Barkworth, 2003; Zuloaga et al., 2008; Clayton et al., 2015).

Distribution Table

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The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

Last updated: 25 Feb 2021

Continent/Country/Region	Distribution	Origin	First Reported	Invasive	Reference	Notes
Africa
Algeria	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Angola	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Botswana	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Burkina Faso	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Cabo Verde	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Cameroon	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Central African Republic	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Chad	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Egypt	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Eritrea	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Eswatini	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Ethiopia	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Kenya	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Lesotho	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Libya	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Madagascar	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Malawi	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Mali	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Mauritania	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Morocco	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Mozambique	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Namibia	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Niger	Present				USDA-ARS (2015)	Probably introduced
Nigeria	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Saint Helena	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Seychelles	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Somalia	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
South Africa	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
South Sudan	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Tanzania	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Togo	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Tunisia	Present				USDA-ARS (2015)	Probably introduced
Uganda	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Zambia	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Zimbabwe	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Asia
Afghanistan	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Azerbaijan	Present				USDA-ARS (2015)	Probably introduced
Bangladesh	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Bhutan	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
China
-Gansu	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Hebei	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Heilongjiang	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Henan	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Inner Mongolia	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Jiangsu	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Jilin	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Liaoning	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Ningxia	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Qinghai	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Shandong	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Shanxi	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Sichuan	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Xinjiang	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
-Yunnan	Present	Introduced			Flora of China Editorial Committee (2015)
India	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Arunachal Pradesh	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Bihar	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Chandigarh	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Chhattisgarh	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Dadra and Nagar Haveli	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Daman and Diu	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Goa	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Gujarat	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Haryana	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Jammu and Kashmir	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Jharkhand	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Karnataka	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Kerala	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Madhya Pradesh	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Maharashtra	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Odisha	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Puducherry	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Punjab	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Rajasthan	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Sikkim	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Tamil Nadu	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Uttar Pradesh	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
-West Bengal	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Indonesia	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Iran	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Iraq	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Israel	Present	Introduced			DAISIE (2015)
Japan	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Kazakhstan	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Kyrgyzstan	Present				USDA-ARS (2015)	Probably introduced
Lebanon	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Mongolia	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Myanmar	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Nepal	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
North Korea	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Oman	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Pakistan	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Palestine	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Saudi Arabia	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
South Korea	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Taiwan	Present				USDA-ARS (2015)	Probably introduced
Turkmenistan	Present				USDA-ARS (2015)	Probably introduced
Uzbekistan	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Vietnam	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Yemen	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
Europe
Belgium	Present	Introduced			DAISIE (2015)
Czechia	Present	Introduced			DAISIE (2015)
France	Present	Introduced			DAISIE (2015)
Portugal
-Madeira	Present	Introduced			DAISIE (2015)
Russia
-Russian Far East	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)	Amur, Khabarovsk, Primorye
-Southern Russia	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)	North Caucasus, Transcaucasus
Spain	Present	Introduced			DAISIE (2015)
-Canary Islands	Present	Introduced		Naturalized	USDA-ARS (2015)	Naturalized
United Kingdom	Present	Introduced			DAISIE (2015)
North America
Anguilla	Present				Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong (2012)	Origin uncertain
Antigua and Barbuda	Present				Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong (2012)	Origin uncertain
Aruba	Present				Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong (2012)	Origin uncertain
Barbados	Present				Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong (2012)	Origin uncertain
Bonaire, Saint Eustatius and Saba
-Bonaire	Present				Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong (2012)	Origin uncertain
Costa Rica	Present, Few occurrences	Introduced	2008		Lobo Cabezas (2008)	Collected for first time in 2008 along a highway in San Jose
Cuba	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Oviedo Prieto et al. (2012)
Curaçao	Present				Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong (2012)	Origin uncertain
Dominican Republic	Present				Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong (2012)	Origin uncertain
El Salvador	Present	Native			Clayton et al. (2015)
Martinique	Present				Acevedo-Rodríguez and Strong (2012)	Origin uncertain
Mexico	Present	Native			Villaseñor and Espinosa-Garcia (1998)	Aguascalientes, Baja California Norte, Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Colima, Distrito Federal, Durango, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Estado de México, Michoacán, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, San Luís Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Yucatán, Zacatecas
Nicaragua	Present	Native			Clayton et al. (2015)
Panama	Present	Native			Clayton et al. (2015)
United States
-Alabama	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Arizona	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Arkansas	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-California	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Colorado	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Florida	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Georgia	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Hawaii	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Wagner et al. (1999)
-Kansas	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Kentucky	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Louisiana	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Maine	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Maryland	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Massachusetts	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Mississippi	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Missouri	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Nebraska	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Nevada	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-New Mexico	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-New York	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-North Dakota	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Oklahoma	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-South Carolina	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
-Texas	Present	Native			USDA-NRCS (2015)
Oceania
Australia	Present				Mills et al. (2001)
-New South Wales	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Weeds of Australia (2015) Mills et al. (2001)
-Northern Territory	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Weeds of Australia (2015)
-Queensland	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Weeds of Australia (2015)
-South Australia	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Weeds of Australia (2015)
-Victoria	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Weeds of Australia (2015)
-Western Australia	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Weeds of Australia (2015)
French Polynesia	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Florence et al. (2013)
Nauru	Present	Introduced			Fosberg et al. (1987)
New Caledonia	Present	Introduced		Invasive	MacKee (1994)
Northern Mariana Islands	Present	Introduced			Fosberg et al. (1987)
Palau	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Space et al. (2009)
Papua New Guinea	Present	Introduced			Clayton et al. (2015)
U.S. Minor Outlying Islands	Present	Introduced		Invasive	PIER (2015)	Midway Atoll
Vanuatu	Present	Introduced			PIER (2015)
South America
Argentina	Present	Native			Zuloaga et al. (2008)	Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Córdoba, Corrientes, Distrito Federal, Entre Ríos, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Río Negro, Salta, Sgo. del Estero, Santa Fe, San Juan, San Luis, Tucumán
Bolivia	Present	Native			Clayton et al. (2015)
Brazil
-Alagoas	Present	Native			Filgueiras and Valls (2015)
-Bahia	Present	Native			Filgueiras and Valls (2015)
-Ceara	Present	Native			Filgueiras and Valls (2015)
-Maranhao	Present	Native			Filgueiras and Valls (2015)
-Paraiba	Present	Native			Filgueiras and Valls (2015)
-Pernambuco	Present	Native			Filgueiras and Valls (2015)
-Piaui	Present	Native			Filgueiras and Valls (2015)
-Rio Grande do Norte	Present	Native			Filgueiras and Valls (2015)
-Sergipe	Present	Native			Filgueiras and Valls (2015)
Chile	Present	Native			Zuloaga et al. (2008)	Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Córdoba, Corrientes, Distrito Federal, Entre Ríos, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Río Negro, Salta, Sgo. del Estero, Santa Fe, San Juan, San Luis, Tucumán
Colombia	Present	Native			Clayton et al. (2015)
Ecuador	Present	Native			Clayton et al. (2015)
-Galapagos Islands	Present	Introduced		Invasive	Charles Darwin Foundation (2008)
Paraguay	Present	Native			Zuloaga et al. (2008)	Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Chaco, Córdoba, Corrientes, Distrito Federal, Entre Ríos, Jujuy, La Pampa, La Rioja, Mendoza, Río Negro, Salta, Sgo. del Estero, Santa Fe, San Juan, San Luis, Tucumán
Peru	Present	Native			Clayton et al. (2015)
Venezuela	Present	Native			Clayton et al. (2015)

History of Introduction and Spread

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Because the native distribution range of C. virgata is still unclear, for many regions of the world where this species occurs it is not certain if it represents a natural occurrence or if it was introduced (i.e., human-assisted introduction). During the 1960s, this species was promoted in Africa (i.e., Kenya) and India as an optimal grass for reseeding denuded rangelands and highly disturbed areas in saline and alkaline soils (Bor, 1960; Bogdan and Pratt, 1967).

Risk of Introduction

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The risk of further spread of C. virgata is very high. This grass is an aggressive invader with the capability to grow in a wide rage of climates and soil types. It is a prolific seed producer and seeds can be easily dispersed by wind and water and as a seed contaminant in hay and crop seeds (Weeds of Australia, 2015; FAO, 2015; PIER, 2015; USDA-ARS, 2015).

Habitat

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C. virgata is a widespread and aggressive weed. In China, it has been described as a common weed on stony slopes, steppe, sandy riversides, roadsides, fields, plantations, and frequent on walls and roofs in areas from sea level to 3700 metres (Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2015). In Hawaii, it can be found naturalized along roadsides, in dry pastures, and in open, mesic shrubland, at elevations from 0 to 410 m (Wagner et al., 1999). In the Galápagos Islands, it grows in arid lowlands (McMullen, 1999). In Australia, it grows in a variety of habitats, particularly disturbed areas and roadsides; also levee banks, creek lines, coastal areas, sand dunes and gardens (Smith, 2002; Weeds of Australia, 2015). Within its native distribution range in the USA and Mexico, this species also grows as a weed in ruderal areas, along roadsides, and in open and disturbed sites in grasslands, pastures, and rangelands (Barkworth, 2003; Vibrans, 2009).

Habitat List

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Category	Sub-Category	Habitat	Presence	Status
Terrestrial
Terrestrial	Managed	Cultivated / agricultural land	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Managed	Cultivated / agricultural land	Present, no further details	Natural
Terrestrial	Managed	Managed grasslands (grazing systems)	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Managed	Managed grasslands (grazing systems)	Present, no further details	Natural
Terrestrial	Managed	Managed grasslands (grazing systems)	Present, no further details	Productive/non-natural
Terrestrial	Managed	Disturbed areas	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Managed	Disturbed areas	Present, no further details	Natural
Terrestrial	Managed	Rail / roadsides	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Managed	Rail / roadsides	Present, no further details	Natural
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Natural grasslands	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Natural grasslands	Present, no further details	Natural
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Natural grasslands	Present, no further details	Productive/non-natural
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Riverbanks	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Riverbanks	Present, no further details	Natural
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Scrub / shrublands	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Scrub / shrublands	Present, no further details	Natural
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Deserts	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Deserts	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Deserts	Present, no further details	Natural
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Deserts	Present, no further details	Natural
Littoral		Coastal areas	Present, no further details	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Littoral		Coastal areas	Present, no further details	Natural

Hosts/Species Affected

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C. virgata is a common weed in alfalfa (Medicago sativa) fields of the southwestern USA (Barkworth, 2003) and maize and sorghum plantations in Mexico (Vibrans, 2009).

Host Plants and Other Plants Affected

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Plant name	Family	Context
Medicago sativa (lucerne)	Fabaceae	Main
Sorghum bicolor (sorghum)	Poaceae	Main
Zea mays (maize)	Poaceae	Main

Growth Stages

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Flowering stage, Fruiting stage, Post-harvest, Vegetative growing stage

Biology and Ecology

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Genetics

The chromosome number reported for C. virgata varies from 2n = 14, 20, 26, 30, to 2n = 40 (Barkworth, 2003; Roodt and Spies, 2003; Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2015).

Reproductive Biology

C. virgata is primarily cross-pollinating, but it is also self-compatible. It is mostly wind-pollinated.

Physiology and Phenology

In Mexico, C. virgata has been recorded flowering throughout the year (Vibrans, 2009). In China, it produces flowers and fruits from June to October (Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2015).

Environmental Requirements

C. virgata grows in arid, dry, and moist habitats from sea level to 2500 m in elevation with mean annual temperatures around 25-30°C (Vibrans, 2009). It is able to grow in dry areas with mean annual rainfall ranging from 500 mm to 750 mm, but it is also adapted to arid environments where the minimum rainfall is about 375 mm. It prefers heavy soils, but has a wide soil range including saline, alkaline, and dark clay soils (Weeds of Australia, 2015).

Air Temperature

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Parameter	Lower limit	Upper limit
Mean annual temperature (ºC)	20	30

Rainfall

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Parameter	Lower limit	Upper limit	Description
Dry season duration	0	4	number of consecutive months with <40 mm rainfall
Mean annual rainfall	375	1500	mm; lower/upper limits

Rainfall Regime

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Bimodal
Uniform

Soil Tolerances

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Soil drainage

free

Soil reaction

acid
neutral

Soil texture

heavy
light
medium

Special soil tolerances

saline

Means of Movement and Dispersal

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C. virgata spreads by seed and vegetatively by stolons. It produces abundant seeds that are easily transported by wind and water and as seed contaminants in hay and adhering to animal fur. Livestock movements can also spread seeds and stolons (FAO, 2015; PIER, 2015; USDA-ARS, 2015; Weeds of Australia, 2015).

Pathway Causes

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Cause	Notes	Long Distance	Local	References
Crop production	Potential seed contaminant	Yes	Yes	USDA-ARS, 2015
Disturbance	Weed on disturbed open areas	Yes	Yes	Barkworth, 2003
Forage	Forage, fodder, hay production	Yes	Yes	USDA-ARS, 2015
Habitat restoration and improvement	Has been used for reseeding denuded rangeland	Yes	Yes	FAO, 2015

Pathway Vectors

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Vector	Notes	Long Distance	Local	References
Debris and waste associated with human activities	Stolons and seeds can be carried by wind, vehicles or by adhering to animal fur	Yes	Yes	FAO, 2015
Soil, sand and gravel	Seed contaminants	Yes	Yes	PIER, 2015
Water	Seeds	Yes	Yes	PIER, 2015
Wind	Seeds	Yes	Yes	PIER, 2015

Impact Summary

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Category	Impact
Cultural/amenity	Positive and negative
Economic/livelihood	Positive and negative
Environment (generally)	Positive and negative

Economic Impact

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C. virgata is an aggressive weed of agricultural lands and gardens. It is a weed of alfalfa, maize and sorghum plantations in Mexico and the USA (Barkworth, 2003; Vibrans, 2009).

Environmental Impact

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C. virgata is considered a weed of agricultural areas and gardens, but it is also an aggressive environmental weed (Randall, 2012; PIER, 2015; USDA-ARS, 2015). It has escaped from cultivation, pastures, gardens, disturbed areas and roadsides to nearby creek lines, riverbanks, native grasslands, and coastal forests including sand dunes (Weeds of Australia, 2015). This species is a particularly aggressive invader of bare areas and degraded or disturbed native vegetation, and has the capability to out-compete native species in these habitats (Weeds of Australia, 2015).

Risk and Impact Factors

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Invasiveness

Proved invasive outside its native range
Has a broad native range
Abundant in its native range
Highly adaptable to different environments
Is a habitat generalist
Tolerates, or benefits from, cultivation, browsing pressure, mutilation, fire etc
Pioneering in disturbed areas
Highly mobile locally
Benefits from human association (i.e. it is a human commensal)
Fast growing
Has high reproductive potential
Gregarious
Reproduces asexually

Impact outcomes

Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
Modification of fire regime
Modification of hydrology
Modification of successional patterns
Monoculture formation
Negatively impacts agriculture
Reduced native biodiversity
Threat to/ loss of native species

Impact mechanisms

Competition - monopolizing resources
Competition - shading
Competition - smothering
Herbivory/grazing/browsing
Rapid growth
Rooting

Likelihood of entry/control

Highly likely to be transported internationally accidentally
Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately
Difficult to identify/detect as a commodity contaminant
Difficult to identify/detect in the field

Uses

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C. virgata is used as a revegetator, fodder, and forage grass (USDA-ARS, 2015). It is one of the first grasses to colonize bare ground, and has been used for reseeding denuded rangeland in Kenya and highly disturbed areas in arid and semiarid regions (Bogdan and Pratt, 1967; FAO, 2015).

Uses List

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Animal feed, fodder, forage

Fodder/animal feed
Forage

Environmental

Erosion control or dune stabilization
Soil conservation

Medicinal, pharmaceutical

Traditional/folklore

Similarities to Other Species/Conditions

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C. virgata can be easily confused with Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) and purpletop Rhodes grass (Chloris inflata). Weeds of Australia (2015) lists the following differences between these species:

C. virgata has very feathery seed-heads that are initially greyish-green in colour and usually borne in a more upright position. Its flower spikelets of have two relatively large awns (5-15 mm long) and are hairy towards their tips.
C. gayana has seed-heads that are initially greenish-brown in colour and spreading or drooping in nature. Its flower spikelets have one small and one very small awn (both usually less than 6 mm long) and are not very hairy.
C. inflata has seed-heads that are initially purplish in colour and spreading or drooping in nature. Its flower spikelets have three relatively small awns (all less than 7 mm long) and are hairy towards their tips.

Prevention and Control

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Due to the variable regulations around (de)registration of pesticides, your national list of registered pesticides or relevant authority should be consulted to determine which products are legally allowed for use in your country when considering chemical control. Pesticides should always be used in a lawful manner, consistent with the product's label.

Chloris species are generally susceptible to herbicides such as atrazine and glyphosate. However, resistance to glyphosate and possibly other Group G/9 herbicides (EPSP synthase inhibitors) has appeared in C. virgata in Australia, first recorded in plants occurring on roadsides in 2015 (Heap, 2017).

Even when mature, Chloris is readily controlled with the selective grass herbicide haloxyfop (Cook et al., 2005).

References

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Acevedo-Rodríguez P, Strong MT, 2012. Catalogue of the Seed Plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contributions to Botany, 98:1192 pp. Washington DC, USA: Smithsonian Institution. http://botany.si.edu/Antilles/WestIndies/catalog.htm

Barkworth ME, 2003. Chloris Sw. Flora of North America vol. 25 [ed. by Barkworth, M. E. \Capels, K. M. \Long, S. \Piep, M. B.]. http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual/

Bogdan AV, Pratt DJ, 1967. Reseeding denuded pastoral land in Kenya., Republic of Kenya: Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, 48 pp.

Bor NL, 1960. The Grasses of Burma, Ceylon, India and Pakistan (Excluding Bambusae). Oxford, UK: Pergamon Press.

Charles Darwin Foundation, 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. Galapagos, Ecuador: Charles Darwin Foundation, unpaginated.

Clayton WD, Govaerts R, Harman KT, Williamson H, Vorontsova M, 2015. World Checklist of Poaceae. Richmond, UK: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/

Cook BG, Pengelly BC, Brown SD, Donnelly JL, Eagles DA, Franco MA, Hanson J, Partridge IJ, Peter M, Schultze-Kraft R, 2005. Tropical Forages: an interactive selection tool. Brisbane, Australia: CSIRO, DPI&F, CIAT, ILRI. http://www.tropicalforages.info/

DAISIE, 2015. Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe. European Invasive Alien Species Gateway. www.europe-aliens.org/default.do

FAO, 2015. Grassland species profiles. Rome, Italy: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. http://www.fao.org/ag/agp/AGPC/doc/Gbase/Default.htm

Filgueiras TS, Valls JFM, 2015. Chloris in Lista de Espécies da Flora do Brasil (Chloris in the list of species of the flora of Brazil). http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/jabot/floradobrasil/FB20354

Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2015. Flora of China. St. Louis, Missouri and Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden and Harvard University Herbaria. http://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=2

Florence J, Chevillotte H, Ollier C, Meyer J-Y, 2013. Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP) (Botanical database of the Nadeaud Herbarium of French Polynesia). http://www.herbier-tahiti.pf

Fosberg FR, Sachet M-H, Oliver R, 1987. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian monocotyledonae. Micronesia 20: 1-2, 19-129.

Heap I, 2017. The International Survey of Herbicide Resistant Weeds. Online. www.weedscience.org

Lobo Cabezas S, 2008. First record of Chloris virgata (Poaceae) in Costa Rica. (Primera documentación de Chloris virgata (Poaceae) en Costa Rica.) Brenesia, 69:71-72.

MacKee HS, 1994. Catalogue of introduced and cultivated plants in New Caledonia. (Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie.) Paris, France: Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, unpaginated.

McMullen CK, 1999. Flowering plants of the Galápagos. Ithaca, New York, USA: Comstock Publisher Assoc., 370 pp.

Oviedo Prieto R, Herrera Oliver P, Caluff MG, et al. , 2012. National list of invasive and potentially invasive plants in the Republic of Cuba - 2011. (Lista nacional de especies de plantas invasoras y potencialmente invasoras en la República de Cuba - 2011). Bissea: Boletín sobre Conservación de Plantas del Jardín Botánico Nacional de Cuba, 6(Special Issue 1):22-96.

PIER, 2015. Pacific Islands Ecosystems at Risk. Honolulu, USA: HEAR, University of Hawaii. http://www.hear.org/pier/index.html

Randall RP, 2012. A Global Compendium of Weeds. Perth, Australia: Department of Agriculture and Food Western Australia, 1124 pp. http://www.cabi.org/isc/FullTextPDF/2013/20133109119.pdf

Roodt R, Spies JJ, 2003. Chromosome studies in the grass subfamily Chloridoideae. I. Basic chromosome numbers. Taxon, 52(3):557-566.

Smith NM, 2002. Weeds of the wet/dry tropics of Australia - a field guide., Australia: Environment Centre NT, Inc, 112 pp.

Space JC, Lorence DH, LaRosa AM, 2009. Report to the Republic of Palau: 2008 update on Invasive Plant Species. Hilo, Hawaii, USA: USDA Forest Service, 227. http://www.sprep.org/att/irc/ecopies/countries/palau/48.pdf

Stevens PF, 2012. Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/

USDA-ARS, 2015. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online Database. Beltsville, Maryland, USA: National Germplasm Resources Laboratory. https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysearch.aspx

USDA-NRCS, 2015. The PLANTS Database. Baton Rouge, USA: National Plant Data Center. http://plants.usda.gov/

Vibrans H, 2009. Ficha Informativa par la especie Chloris virgata. Malezas de Mexico ([English title not available]). http://www.conabio.gob.mx/malezasdemexico/2inicio/home-malezas-mexico.htm

Villaseñor JL, Espinosa-Garcia FJ, 1998. Catálogo de malezas de México ([English title not available])., Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Wagner WI, Herbst DR, Sohmer SH, 1999. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii, revised edition. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA: University of Hawaii Press.

Weeds of Australia, 2015. Weeds of Australia, Biosecurity Queensland Edition. http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/03030800-0b07-490a-8d04-0605030c0f01/media/Html/search.html?zoom_query=

Zuloaga FO, Morrone O, Belgrano MJ, 2008. Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares del Cono Sur: (Argentina, Sur de Brasil, Chile, Paraguay y Uruguay) ([English title not available])., USA: Missouri Botanical Garden Press, 3348 pp.

Distribution References

Acevedo-Rodríguez P, Strong M T, 2012. Catalogue of the Seed Plants of the West Indies. Washington, DC, USA: Smithsonian Institution. 1192 pp. http://botany.si.edu/Antilles/WestIndies/catalog.htm

Charles Darwin Foundation, 2008. Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos. In: Database inventory of introduced plant species in the rural and urban zones of Galapagos, Galapagos, Ecuador: Charles Darwin Foundation. unpaginated.

Clayton WD, Govaerts R, Harman KT, Williamson H, Vorontsova M, 2015. World Checklist of Poaceae., Richmond, UK: Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/

DAISIE, 2015. Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe. http://www.europe-aliens.org/

Filgueiras TS, Valls JFM, 2015. Chloris in the list of species of the flora of Brazil. (Chloris in Lista de Espécies da Flora do Brasil)., http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/jabot/floradobrasil/FB20354

Flora of China Editorial Committee, 2015. Flora of China., St. Louis, Missouri; Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA: Missouri Botanical Garden and Harvard University Herbaria. http://www.efloras.org/flora_page.aspx?flora_id=2

Florence J, Chevillotte H, Ollier C, Meyer J-Y, 2013. Botanical database of the Nadeaud Herbarium of French Polynesia. (Base de données botaniques Nadeaud de l'Herbier de la Polynésie Française (PAP))., http://www.herbier-tahiti.pf

Fosberg FR, Sachet M-H, Oliver R, 1987. A geographical checklist of the Micronesian monocotyledonae. In: Micronesia, 20 1-2, 19-129.

Lobo Cabezas S, 2008. First record of Chloris virgata (Poaceae) in Costa Rica. (Primera documentación de Chloris virgata (Poaceae) en Costa Rica). In: Brenesia, 69 71-72.

MacKee H S, 1994. Catalogue des plantes introduites et cultivées en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Paris, France: Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. unpaginated.

Mills L, Leaman T M, Taghavi S M, Shackel L, Dominiak B C, Taylor P W J, Fegan M, Teakle D S, 2001. Leifsonia xyli-like bacteria are endophytes of grasses in eastern Australia. Australasian Plant Pathology. 30 (2), 145-151. DOI:10.1071/AP01003

Oviedo Prieto R, Herrera Oliver P, Caluff M G, et al, 2012. National list of invasive and potentially invasive plants in the Republic of Cuba - 2011. (Lista nacional de especies de plantas invasoras y potencialmente invasoras en la República de Cuba - 2011). Bissea: Boletín sobre Conservación de Plantas del Jardín Botánico Nacional de Cuba. 6 (Special Issue No. 1), 22-96.

PIER, 2015. Pacific Islands Ecosystems at Risk., Honolulu, USA: HEAR, University of Hawaii. http://www.hear.org/pier/index.html

Space JC, Lorence DH, LaRosa AM, 2009. Report to the Republic of Palau: 2008 update on Invasive Plant Species., Hilo, Hawaii, USA: USDA Forest Service. 227. http://www.sprep.org/att/irc/ecopies/countries/palau/48.pdf

USDA-ARS, 2015. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Online Database. Beltsville, Maryland, USA: National Germplasm Resources Laboratory. https://npgsweb.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomysimple.aspx

USDA-NRCS, 2015. The PLANTS Database. Greensboro, North Carolina, USA: National Plant Data Team. https://plants.sc.egov.usda.gov

Villaseñor JL, Espinosa-Garcia FJ, 1998. [English title not available]. (Catálogo de malezas de México)., Mexico: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México.

Wagner WI, Herbst DR, Sohmer SH, 1999. Manual of the Flowering Plants of Hawaii, revised edition., Honolulu, Hawaii, USA: University of Hawaii Press.

Weeds of Australia, 2015. Weeds of Australia, Biosecurity Queensland Edition., http://keyserver.lucidcentral.org/weeds/data/03030800-0b07-490a-8d04-0605030c0f01/media/Html/search.html?zoom_query=

Zuloaga FO, Morrone O, Belgrano MJ, 2008. [English title not available]. (Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares del Cono Sur: (Argentina, Sur de Brasil, Chile, Paraguay y Uruguay))., USA: Missouri Botanical Garden Press. 3348 pp.

Links to Websites

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Website	URL	Comment
FAO Grassland Species Profiles	http://www.fao.org/ag/Agp/agpc/doc/GBASE/Default.htm
GISD/IASPMR: Invasive Alien Species Pathway Management Resource and DAISIE European Invasive Alien Species Gateway	https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.m93f6	Data source for updated system data added to species habitat list.
Global register of Introduced and Invasive species (GRIIS)	http://griis.org/	Data source for updated system data added to species habitat list.
Grass Manual on the Web	http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual/

Contributors

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03/05/16 Original text by:

Julissa Rojas-Sandoval, Department of Botany-Smithsonian NMNH, Washington DC, USA

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Datasheet

Chloris virgata (feather finger grass)

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