Moorochloa eruciformis
(sweet signal grass)

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Identity

Preferred Scientific Name

• Moorochloa eruciformis (Sm.) Veldkamp

Preferred Common Name

• sweet signal grass

Other Scientific Names

• Brachiaria cruciformis Griseb.
• Brachiaria eruciformis (Sm.) Griseb.
• Brachiaria isachne (Roth ex Roem. & Schult.) Stapf
• Echinochloa eruciformis (Sm.) Koch
• Echinochloa eruciformis (Sm.) Rchb.
• Milium alternans Bubani
• Panicum caucasicum Trin.
• Panicum eruciforme Sm.
• Panicum isachne Roth
• Panicum pubinode Hochst. ex A.Rich.
• Panicum wightii Nees
• Urochloa eruciformis (Sm.) C. Nelson & Fern. Casas

International Common Names

• English: signal grass; summer grass; sweet summer grass

Local Common Names

• China: bi xing cao
• Cuba: brachiaria
• France: herbe carapatte
• India: antu garike hullu; chimpigyan hullu; chinwari; domakalu gaddi; guhria; khariu; loidan suput; sarpot; sarput; seprut; sheput; shimpi; shimpigyan hullu; sipi; tiliya
• Italy: giavone sottile
• Mauritius: mehenki
• Mexico: brizanta
• Somalia: kulekule
• South Africa: kgalane; kgolane; khalane; litjiesinjaalgras; litjiesrysgras; soetgras; soetlitjiesrysgras; umfisane; umkraut armgras
• Spain: pota de gall eruciforme
• Sudan: um sileika

Summary of Invasiveness

Moorochlora eruciformis is an annual herb, fodder crop and common agricultural weed, native to Africa, Asia and the Mediterranean; it has also been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. Crop seed contamination is a possible pathway for dispersal of this species. It is reported as invasive in Cuba, Spain and Australia as well as islands in Oceania. Despite this, there is limited information available about the economic and environmental impacts of this species or its dispersal potential.

Taxonomic Tree

• Domain: Eukaryota
•     Kingdom: Plantae
•         Phylum: Spermatophyta
•             Subphylum: Angiospermae
•                 Class: Monocotyledonae
•                     Order: Cyperales
•                         Family: Poaceae
•                             Genus: Brachiaria
•                                 Species: Moorochloa eruciformis

Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature

Since the original publication of Panicum eruciforme Sm. in 1808, the species has been transferred to several genera: Brachiaria by Reichenbach in 1833, Echinochloa by Koch in 1848, Urochloa by Hardy and Fernández Casas in 1998 and most recently to Moorochloa by Veldkamp in 2004. The adaxial spikelet orientation in Brachiaria has been considered a weak morphological character for separation between Brachiaria and Urochloa (Torres González and Morton, 2005). On the other hand, Veldkamp (2004) used upper lemma to discriminate between Urochloa and Moorochloa, the new genus for several annual species previously in the genus Brachiaria, including B. eruciformis. Molecular phylogeny using plastid ndhF sequences and combined analysis with morphological traits for the tribe Paniceae, revealed that Moorochloa is well supported and distinct from the clade that includes Urochloa. The analysis also revealed that Brachiaria should be regarded as a synonym of Urochloa (Morrone et al., 2012). Further work supports the recognition of Moorochloa (Soreng et al., 2015).

Description

M. eruciformis is an annual terrestrial herb growing up to 45 cm tall and forming dense clusters of 10-60 cm long reclining and slender stems, with softly hairy culms rooting at the lower nodes. Stem internodes are hollow.

The following description is from Stone (1970):

Blades slightly hairy, flat, usually less than 7 cm long and only up to 4.5 mm wide. Panicle 5-7 cm long with several appressed to ascending racemes up to 2.3 cm long; rachis pubescent; spikelets about 2.5 mm long, slightly hairy; first glume tiny (0.3 mm long), nerveless.

The following description is from India Biodiversity Portal (2016):

Erect herbs. Leaves lanceolate, 1.5-5 by 0.3-0.5 cm, pilose, margin scabrid, apex acuminate, sheath 2-4 cm long. Racemes terminal, cylindric, 7-9 cm long, branches triquetrous, winged, scabrid. Spikelet ellipsoid, secund-imbricate, densely pubescent, shortly stipitate; glumes unequal, membranous, lower glume a minute scale, upper glume as long as spikelet, 5-nerved, lower lemma 3-nerved, upper lemma crustaceous, smooth, 3-nerved; stamens 3. Caryopsis ovoid.

Plant Type

Distribution

M. eruciformis is the most widely distributed species of the genus Moorochloa. It is native to Africa, the Mediterranean Region and much of Asia. It has also been introduced to the Americas and Oceania and is probably absent only from the coldest areas of the Northern Hemisphere. In Spain it is recorded as native according to Kumar (2011), however it is also listed as a weed with ‘incipient invasive behaviour’ in Spain (Sanz-Elorza et al., 2001). It is considered invasive in Cuba, Spain, Australia, Fiji, Guam and New Caledonia (Sanz-Elorza et al., 2001; Randall, 2007; Oviedo Prieto et al., 2012; PIER, 2016).

Distribution Table

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.

History of Introduction and Spread

M. eruciformis was first introduced to New Caledonia in 1931 for use as a forage crop (Gargominy et al., 1996). It was first recorded in Morocco in 1980, possibly as a result of contaminated crop seed (Tanji and Taleb, 1997). Details of introductions to other countries are not known.

Introductions

Habitat

M. eruciformis grows as a weed on agricultural land (Holzner and Numata, 1982; Kumar, 2011). It can also be found in damp areas, along roadsides, ditches and wastelands (Kumar, 2011), Ellnbroek (1987) and Muhammad et al. (2012) report that it occurs in forests and wetlands.

Habitat List

Hosts/Species Affected

It is a common weed species in cultivated fields, particularly associated with maize, sugarcane and coffee crops (Holzner and Numata, 1982; Blanca et al., 2009; Afridi et al., 2015).

Host Plants and Other Plants Affected

Biology and Ecology

Genetics

There is limited information available about the genetics of M. eruciformis. It is a diploid species, 2n = 18 (Basappa, 1987).

Longevity

Most of the literature describes M. eruciformis as an annual species. However, Amjad et al. (2015) describe it as a perennial species growing in Pir Nasoora National Park, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, India.

Associations

M. eruciformis is an important component of Pinus roxburghii communities in the forest of Kotli hills, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan (Muhammad et al., 2012). These forests are subject to disturbance due mainly to soil erosion, deforestation and over-grazing. Out of 13 plant communities studied, M. eruciformis was found to be dominant in one of these and an associated species in two others. Similar associations have been described in wetland communities in Zambia, Africa (Ellnbroek, 1987; Muhammad et al., 2012).

Climate

Latitude/Altitude Ranges

Air Temperature

Rainfall

Soil Tolerances

Soil reaction

• acid
• alkaline

Soil texture

• heavy

Special soil tolerances

• infertile

Means of Movement and Dispersal

Natural Dispersal

Dispersal of M. eruciformis occurs primarily by seed.

Accidental Introduction

Crop seed contamination has been suggested as one of the most common dispersal pathways of M. eruciformis, spreading it to agricultural fields in other countries (Afridi et al., 2015).

Pathway Causes

Environmental Impact

Although M. eruciformis is an exotic component of the flora throughout the tropics and in some areas outside of the tropics, no details have been published on the ecological consequences of its introduction.

Impact: Biodiversity

M. eruciformis is recorded as an agricultural weed (Randall, 2012) and is recorded as invasive in Cuba, Spain, Australia, Fiji, Guam and New Caledonia (Sanz-Elorza et al., 2001; Randall, 2007; Oviedo Prieto et al., 2012; PIER, 2016). However, no specific impacts on biodiversity have been reported.

Risk and Impact Factors

• Proved invasive outside its native range
• Has a broad native range
• Abundant in its native range

• Negatively impacts agriculture

Uses

M. eruciformis is an important fodder species (Miles et al., 1996; Amjad et al., 2015).

Uses List

Animal feed, fodder, forage

• Fodder/animal feed
• Forage

Environmental

• Erosion control or dune stabilization

Similarities to Other Species/Conditions

The genus Moorochloa is principally characterized by an ovate or oblong spikelet with an early deciduous upper floret, dorsiventral inflorescence arranged in one-sided racemes, with lower glume adjacent to the rachis. This differs from species in the closely related genus Urochloa, which now includes former Brachiaria species, as they have radiate or bilateral inflorescences, spikelets with the upper floret transversely rugose and are not early deciduous. 

M. eruciformis has much smaller (1.7-2.7 mm) hairy spikelets compared to that of Brachiaria platyphylla (3.5-4.5 mm) and it also has 3-14 racemes compared to 2-6 in B. platyphylla. M. eruciformis has two rows of hairy spikelets whereas Echinochloa colona has clusters of 2-4 sessile spikelets.

Prevention and Control

M. eruciformis is 95% susceptible to glyphosate in concentrations as low as 0.5 L ha^-1, as tested in Australia. However, some glyphosate resistance in M. eruciformis has been documented (Preston, 2018).

Gaps in Knowledge/Research Needs

There is limited information available regarding the biology of M. eruciformis. Despite being recorded as invasive in a number of countries, there is also very limited information about the risk of introduction and impacts of this species.

References

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Contributors

02/02/17 Original text by:

Augusto C Carvajal Vélez, Consultant, Puerto Rico

Distribution Maps