Sporobolus indicus
Encyclopedia
Sporobolus indicus is a species of grass
known by the common name smut grass.
It can be found in more regions, as well as on many Pacific Islands
, as an introduced species
and a common weed
of disturbed habitat. It is naturalized in Hawaii
, Fiji
, French Polynesia
, New Caledonia
, Midway Atoll
, and other areas.
is a dense, narrow, spikelike panicle
of grayish or light brown spikelets, its base sometimes sheathed by the upper leaf.
The inflorescence and upper leaves are sometimes coated in black smut fungus
of the genus Bipolaris
, the reason for the common name smut grass.
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
known by the common name smut grass.
Distribution
This bunchgrass is native to temperate and tropical areas of the Americas.It can be found in more regions, as well as on many Pacific Islands
Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands comprise 20,000 to 30,000 islands in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are also sometimes collectively called Oceania, although Oceania is sometimes defined as also including Australasia and the Malay Archipelago....
, as an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
and a common weed
Weed
A weed in a general sense is a plant that is considered by the user of the term to be a nuisance, and normally applied to unwanted plants in human-controlled settings, especially farm fields and gardens, but also lawns, parks, woods, and other areas. More specifically, the term is often used to...
of disturbed habitat. It is naturalized in Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
, French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
, Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll
Midway Atoll is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean, near the northwestern end of the Hawaiian archipelago, about one-third of the way between Honolulu, Hawaii, and Tokyo, Japan. Unique among the Hawaiian islands, Midway observes UTC-11 , eleven hours behind Coordinated Universal Time and one hour...
, and other areas.
Description
Sporobolus indicus is a perennial bunchgrass producing a tuft of stems up to about a meter-3 feet tall. The hairless leaves are up to 50 centimeters long. The inflorescenceInflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a dense, narrow, spikelike panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
of grayish or light brown spikelets, its base sometimes sheathed by the upper leaf.
The inflorescence and upper leaves are sometimes coated in black smut fungus
Smut (fungus)
The smuts are multicellular fungi, that are characterized by their large numbers of teliospores. The smuts get their name from a Germanic word for dirt because of their dark, thick-walled and dust-like teliospores. They are mostly Ustilaginomycetes and can cause plant disease...
of the genus Bipolaris
Bipolaris
Bipolaris is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Pleosporaceae.-Species:*Bipolaris australiensis*Bipolaris cactivora*Bipolaris cookei*Bipolaris hawaiiensis*Bipolaris incurvata*Bipolaris nodulosa*Bipolaris sacchari...
, the reason for the common name smut grass.