Ingrid P. Lin, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Botany

Family: Poacae

Synonym(s): Achnatherum clandestinum (Hack.) Barkworth,
Stipa clandestina Hack.

Duration: perennial

Habit: Grass

Listed by:
Invasive Plant Atlas of the US: 0
Federal Noxious Weed: 0
TDA Noxious Weed: 0
TPWD Prohibited Exotic Species: 0

Description: Forms mats, dense tufts, or tussocks, with knotty, rhizomatous bases. Culms 50–90 cm tall, 1–2.9 thick, erect, glabrous; nodes usually 3. Leaves mostly basal, conspicuously 2-ranked. Blades erect, 10–50 cm long, usually with edges rolled or folded, and, 2–4 mm wide when flat, with sharp brown point, especially when dry. Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall. Inflorescence stem carries a single, terminal dense slender spike-like panicle or raceme, with its branches contracted; frequent presence of cleistogamous (hidden) panicles in the axils of its basal leaf sheaths. Panicles 10–20 cm long, 1–5 cm wide, bases sometimes included in the leaf sheaths. Awns 11–23 mm, usually twice-geniculate (bent twice) Seeds about 3 mm long, 1–1.4 mm thick, with smooth longitudinal ribs. [modified from Arriaga and Barkworth, in http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual/ and Bogler http://eol.org/data_objects/6657865]

History: First recorded in the U.S. in Texas in 1987; likely established in San Saba River Valley in the 1960s (Barkworth, Valdes-Reyna and Landers 1988).

Biology & Spread: By seeds. In addition to seeds in the panicles, there are “hidden” seeds in the basal leaf sheaths.

Ecological Threat: Cattle avoid A. clandestine (and other Amelichloa) because of its sharply pointed leaves. This can lead to livestock compacting the soil and trampling the vegetation around the tussocks. In addition, it spreads by both the open and hidden seeds. Taken together, this means that it could become a serious problem in rangelands.

US Habitat: Disturbed and heavily grazed areas, along roadsides and fence lines.

Distribution

US Nativity: Non-native

Native Origin: Native from northern Mexico to Colombia. It has been accidentally introduced to pastures and roadsides in Texas, and is now established there. Barkworth, Valdes-Reyna and Landers (1988) offer some hypotheses for how it arrived in Texas. May also be established in CA, but likely has been misidentified as A. brachychaeta (Ariaga and Barkworth 2006).

US States: (CA), TX

Resembles/Alternatives: In California, resembles Amelichloa brachychaeta, having spikelets that have a single floret that bears a single, terminal awn, but its awns are twice-geniculate (bent twice) whereas those of A. brachychaeta are once-geniculate (Ariaga and Barkworth 2006).

Management: Physical: Mowing favors establishment and spread because it does not eliminate, and may disperse, the “hidden seeds” (cleistogenes). The species is eaten by goats. Horses will eat in winter if necessary because it remains green, as they know how to avoid the sharp tips of the leaves. (Barkworth, Valdes-Reyna and Landers 1988)
Chemical: Actively growing plants can be killed by applying a foliar spray of either glyphosate or hexazinone (Barkworth, Valdes-Reyna and Landers 1988). The related Amelichloa caudata was mentioned on page 34 of a document from Australia covering the use of herbicides for particular species of weeds, in which flupropanate and/or glyphosate were used. (http://www.pir.sa.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/187686/Full_Document_Final_Weeds.pdf)

USE PESTICIDES WISELY: ALWAYS READ THE ENTIRE PESTICIDE LABEL CAREFULLY, FOLLOW ALL MIXING AND APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS AND WEAR ALL RECOMMENDED PERSONAL PROTECTIVE GEAR AND CLOTHING. CONTACT YOUR STATE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE FOR ANY ADDITIONAL PESTICIDE USE REQUIREMENTS, RESTRICTIONS OR RECOMMENDATIONS. MENTION OF PESTICIDE PRODUCTS ON THIS WEB SITE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE ENDORSEMENT OF ANY MATERIAL.

Listing Source

Texas Department ofAgriculture Noxious Plant List
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Prohibited Exotic Species
Invaders Program
Federal Noxious Weed
Union of Concerned Scientists
United States Forest Service Southern Research Station

Text References

Arriaga, Mirta O., and Mary E. Barkworth. 2006. Amelichloa: a new genus in the Stipeae (Poaceae). Sida, vol. 22, no. 1. 145-149.

Barkworth, Mary E., Valdes-Reyna, Jesús, and Landers, Jr., Roger Q. Stipa clandestina: New Weed Threat on Southwestern Rangelands. Weed Technology Vol. 3, No. 4 (Oct. - Dec., 1989), pp. 699-702. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3987568

Barkworth, Mary E., Capels, Kathleen M., Long, Sandy, Anderton, Laurel K. and Piep, M.B., eds. Flora of North America,Volume 24: Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Poaceae, part 1: North of Mexico. 05 March 2007. 944 Pages. Viewed at http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual on 27 Oct 2014.

Data Source

http://www.herbarium.usu.edu/treatments/Amelichloa.htm
Bolger, R. 2010. http://eol.org/data_objects/6657865
http://herbarium.usu.edu/webmanual/

Last Updated: 2014-10-31 by HFL