Axonopus fissifolius (Raddi) Kuhlm. Common name - Carpet grass, Louisiana grass, mat grass, narrowleaved grass. Synonyms: Axonopus affinis Chase, Paspalum fissifolium Raddi (basionym). Family - Poaceae.

Answer

Score

1.01

Is the species highly domesticated? (If answer is 'no' then go to question 2.01)

n

0

1.02

Has the species become naturalized where grown?

1.03

Does the species have weedy races?

2.01

Species suited to tropical or subtropical climate(s) (0-low; 1-intermediate; 2-high) – If island is primarily wet habitat, then substitute “wet tropical” for “tropical or subtropical”

2

2.02

Quality of climate match data (0-low; 1-intermediate; 2-high) see appendix 2

2

2.03

Broad climate suitability (environmental versatility)

y

1

2.04

Native or naturalized in regions with tropical or subtropical climates

y

1

2.05

Does the species have a history of repeated introductions outside its natural range? y=-2

y

3.01

Naturalized beyond native range y = 1*multiplier (see Append 2), n= question 2.05

y

2

3.02

Garden/amenity/disturbance weed y = 1*multiplier (see Append 2)

y

2

3.03

Agricultural/forestry/horticultural weed y = 2*multiplier (see Append 2)

n

0

3.04

Environmental weed y = 2*multiplier (see Append 2)

3.05

Congeneric weed y = 1*multiplier (see Append 2)

y

2

4.01

Produces spines, thorns or burrs

n

0

4.02

Allelopathic

4.03

Parasitic

n

0

4.04

Unpalatable to grazing animals

n

-1

4.05

Toxic to animals

n

0

4.06

Host for recognized pests and pathogens

n

0

4.07

Causes allergies or is otherwise toxic to humans

n

0

4.08

Creates a fire hazard in natural ecosystems

n

0

4.09

Is a shade tolerant plant at some stage of its life cycle

y

1

4.1

Tolerates a wide range of soil conditions (or limestone conditions if not a volcanic island)

y

1

4.11

Climbing or smothering growth habit

n

0

4.12

Forms dense thickets

n

0

5.01

Aquatic

n

0

5.02

Grass

y

1

5.03

Nitrogen fixing woody plant

n

0

5.04

Geophyte (herbaceous with underground storage organs -- bulbs, corms, or tubers)

n

0

6.01

Evidence of substantial reproductive failure in native habitat

n

0

6.02

Produces viable seed.

6.03

Hybridizes naturally

y

1

6.04

Self-compatible or apomictic

n

-1

6.05

Requires specialist pollinators

n

0

6.06

Reproduction by vegetative fragmentation

y

1

6.07

Minimum generative time (years) 1 year = 1, 2 or 3 years = 0, 4+ years = -1

2

0

7.01

Propagules likely to be dispersed unintentionally (plants growing in heavily trafficked areas)

y

1

7.02

Propagules dispersed intentionally by people

y

1

7.03

Propagules likely to disperse as a produce contaminant

y

1

7.04

Propagules adapted to wind dispersal

y

1

7.05

Propagules water dispersed

y

1

7.06

Propagules bird dispersed

n

-1

7.07

Propagules dispersed by other animals (externally)

n

-1

7.08

Propagules survive passage through the gut

y

1

8.01

Prolific seed production (>1000/m2)

y

1

8.02

Evidence that a persistent propagule bank is formed (>1 yr)

8.03

Well controlled by herbicides

y

-1

8.04

Tolerates, or benefits from, mutilation, cultivation, or fire

y

1

8.05

Effective natural enemies present locally (e.g. introduced biocontrol agents)

Total score:

16

Notes

Reference

1.01

No evidence

1.02

1.03

2.01

Native to:
North America: South and central USA, Mexico.
Central America and Caribbean: Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama.
South America : Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela.
Occurs on low, flat areas in humid and sub-humid warm temperate to tropical woodland and savannah .

http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

2.02

(1)Naturalized in the paleotropics. (2)"Naturalised in: Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands." (3)"In Hawai‘i, "naturalized and common in wet pastures, disturbed wet forest and bogs, 160-1,220 m"

(1)http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/tax_search.pl (2)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm (3)http://www.hear.org/pier/species/axonopus_fissifolius.htm

2.03

(1)In Hawaii 160 to 1220 m. (2)In Florida 5 m. (3)"Occurs from sea level to >3,000 m asl, and from near the equator to about 35° latitude, representing a significant range in average annual temperatures from (13-) 17-27°C. Top growth is greatest between 27 and 32°C, and with a day length of 15 hours. Temperatures below 13°C inhibit flowering. Although found in the tropics, it appears to be best adapted to the subtropics. It is found further south than A. compressus in Australia. Tops are burnt off by heavy frost, but plants recover with the onset of warmer, moist conditions."

(1)http://www.hear.org/pier/species/axonopus_fissifolius.htm (2)http://web1.cas.usf.edu/bio/herbarium/specimen_details.cfm?plantID=2188 (3)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

2.04

(1)Naturalized in the paleotropics. (2)"Naturalised in: Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands." (3)"In Hawai‘i, "naturalized and common in wet pastures, disturbed wet forest and bogs, 160-1,220 m"

(1)http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/tax_search.pl (2)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm (3)http://www.hear.org/pier/species/axonopus_fissifolius.htm

2.05

(1)Naturalized in the paleotropics. (2)"Naturalised in: Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands." (3)"In Hawai‘i, "naturalized and common in wet pastures, disturbed wet forest and bogs, 160-1,220 m"

(1)http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/tax_search.pl (2)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm (3)http://www.hear.org/pier/species/axonopus_fissifolius.htm

3.01

(1)Naturalized in the paleotropics. (2)"Naturalised in: Africa, Asia, Australia and the Pacific Islands." (3)"In Hawai‘i, "naturalized and common in wet pastures, disturbed wet forest and bogs, 160-1,220 m"

(1)http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/tax_search.pl (2)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm (3)http://www.hear.org/pier/species/axonopus_fissifolius.htm

3.02

(1)In Hawai‘i, "naturalized and common in wet pastures, disturbed wet forest and bogs, 160-1,220 m" (2)Common and weedy in Samoa. (3)"Weed potential - It is usually insufficiently aggressive to be considered a serious weed in fertile soils. However, it has become a weed in some areas by virtue of its ability to colonise low fertility soils." (4)"This short statured grass invades disturbed habitats in wet mountainous areas."

(1)http://www.hear.org/pier/species/axonopus_fissifolius.htm (2)http://www.hear.org/AlienSpeciesInHawaii/articles/pier/pier_samoa_report.pdf (3)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm (4)http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/cw_smith/axo_fis.htm

3.03

No evidence.

3.04

(1)"Axonopus fissifolius (narrow leaved carpet grass), a stoloniferous, mat-forming grass, was found in koa-ohia forest between 3800 ft (1160m) (in an undisturbed riparian site along Ko'uko'uai Gulch) and the lower limits of the study areas, where it occurs in patches up to 25 m sq in size." (2)Axonopus fissifolus has been listed as a potential threat to several endangered and threatened plants in Hawaii. [This question is not scored as 3.02 is scored].

http://www.hear.org/books/apineh1992/pdfs/apineh1992ii8andersonetal.pdf

3.05

Axonopus compressus- 1)Listed as a 'serious' weed in Borneo, Brazil, Ceylon, Costa Rica, Ghana, India and Malaysia. (2) 'A survey of the weed flora associated with rubber plantations in Kerala, India was conducted during the post-monsoon period… The most dominant weeds of rubber plantations in all stages were Chromolaena odorata, Axonopus compressus…(3)Weed of rice paddies (4)Can become a troublesome weed itself. [Hawaii]

(1)Holm, L, Pancho, J.V.,Herberger,J.P. and Plucknett, D.L. 1979. A geogrpahical atlas of world weeds. John Wiley and sons. New York. Abraham-Mareen; (2)Abraham-C-T. 2000. Weed flora of rubber plantations in Kerala. Indian-Journal-of-Natural-Rubber-Research. 13 (1-2): 86-91. (3)http://www.silsoe.cranfield.ac.uk/iwe/fai/weed_suppressing_technology/weeds.htm (4)http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/SustainAg/CoverCrops/broadleaf_carpetgrass.asp

4.01

No evidence.

4.02

"It appears to be allelopathic since no other vegetation grows up through the carpet of grass." [No evidence confirming the species allelopathic properties].

http://www.botany.hawaii.edu/faculty/cw_smith/axo_fis.htm

4.03

No evidence.

4.04

(1)"Common carpetgrass is grazed all year by livestock. It is a managed pasture grass in some localities." (2)"It is fairly palatable while leafy, but palatability declines with the onset of flowering. Horses eat the masses of seed-heads avoided by cattle."

(1)http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/doc/fs_axfi.doc (2)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

4.05

"Toxicity - No record of toxicity."

http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

4.06

(1)"It is not subject to any major diseases or insect pests, although it is attacked by grass webworm (Herpetogramma licarsisalis, Lepidoptera, Pyralidae), usually during rainy weather, and is affected by Axonopus chlorotic streak, a leaf hopper transmitted virus in New Guinea. Nematodes including Meloidogyne sp., Pratylenchus pratensis and Radopholus similis can cause serious injury in stands on well-drained soils." (2)Claviceps paspali was a fungus recorded to be associated with Axonopus fissifolius. [No evidence that the pathogens listed above have economic importance].

http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

4.07

No evidence

4.08

Probably not - (1)"Although mostly growing in areas where fire is not a problem, it recovers quickly from fire." (2)"The species … tends to favor rather cooler and more waterlogged situations." (3)This species occurs in humid areas.

(1)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm (2)http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=2&taxon_id=242435815 (3)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

4.09

"Light - Moderately shade tolerant but less so than A. compressus."

4.1

(1)"It is adapted to clays, sands, mucks, and peats. Most commonly, it is found on slightly acid sandy to sandy loam soils that have a favorable soil moisture relationship." (2)"Adapted to well to moderately drained sandy or sandy-loam soils, but also to light clays and peats, flourishing in soils too infertile for Paspalum dilatatum . Best in acid soils with pH (4.3-) 5-6 (-7), becoming chlorotic above pH 7. Low tolerance of salinity (<4 dS/m)."

(1)http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/doc/fs_axfi.doc (2)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

4.11

No evidence.

4.12

No evidence

5.01

5.02

" Common carpetgrass is a native, warm season, stoloniferous perennial grass. "

http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/doc/fs_axfi.doc

5.03

5.04

6.01

"A. fissifolius flowers over a wide range of daylengths, flowering throughout the growing season in most environments, with a peak between 12 and 14 hours."

http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

6.02

"It reproduces from stolons and from seed. "

http://plants.usda.gov/factsheet/doc/fs_axfi.doc

6.03

(1)In Axonopus fissifolius "Genetics/breeding 2n = 20, 40, 60, 80." (2)In the related Axonopus compressus - "A cross-pollinating, heterogamous species, forming mostly sterile hybrids with other species in the complex. 2n = 40 (rarely 50 or 60). (3)"A. compresses (broadleaf carpet grass) and A. affinis (narrowleaf carpet grass) cannot be easily distinguished from one another by their general appearance because the leaf width can vary and hybridization occurs." (3)"It should be noted that A. compressus and A. affinis cannot be easily distinguished by their general appearance because the leaf width can vary and wrong naming cannot be excluded. Moreover, the existence of mixed types, possibly of hybrid nature, can be confusing. [Don’t know - from the 4 references it seems that the two Axonopus species might be able to hybridize].

(1)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_compressus.htm (2)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm (3)http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/sustainag/CoverCrops/broadleaf_carpetgrass.asp (4)Bogdon, A.V. 1977. Tropical Pasture and Fodder Plants (Grasses and Legumes). Longman Inc. New York. Pg 45

6.04

Probably not - a very similar congener Axonopus compressus is a cross-pollinating heterogamous species that is known to hybridize with Axomopus fissifolius.

http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_compressus.htm

6.05

Probably not - a grass species.

6.06

"Under favourable conditions, it spreads rapidly by stolons."

http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

6.07

A perennial grass species - probably 2 to 3 years.

7.01

"A. fissifolius produces abundant light seed that is readily spread by water movement and vehicles, and through the dung of grazing animals."

http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

7.02

Probably yes - a common turf and fodder grass.

http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=AXFI

7.03

"Weed: also potential seed contaminant."

http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?317140

7.04

Probably yes - a grass species.

http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

7.05

"A. fissifolius produces abundant light seed that is readily spread by water movement and vehicles, and through the dung of grazing animals."

http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

7.06

Probably not - a grass species.

7.07

Probably not - no evidence that the propagules have any means of attachment.

7.08

"A. fissifolius produces abundant light seed that is readily spread by water movement and vehicles, and through the dung of grazing animals."

http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

8.01

Probably yes - "A. fssifolius produces abundant light seed …. caryopsis tan to pale brown, compressed-ellipsoid to lenticular , 1.4-1.8 mm long. 2.5-3 million seeds per kg."

http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

8.02

No evidence regarding seed longevity in soil.

8.03

"Herbicide effects - Susceptible to DSMA, bentazon, bromoxynil, 2,2-DPA and metsulfuron methyl. Tolerant of diclofop methyl."

http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

8.04

(1)"Although mostly growing in areas where fire is not a problem, it recovers quickly from fire." (2)"Tops are burnt off by heavy frost, but plants recover with the onset of warmer, moist conditions."

(1)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm (2)http://www.tropicalforages.info/key/Forages/Media/Html/Axonopus_fissifolius.htm

8.05