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Echinochloa crus-galli

Barnyard Grass

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Barnyard Grass, Cockspur, Barn Grass, Barnyard Millet

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Europe?; EXOTIC EXOTIC circumtropical and temperate

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Introduced - Recent, Naturalised; S.Group - Ma‘uke only; N.Group - absent; Land, lowlands, wetlands

KEY FEATURES: Annual grass, prostrate to erect, to 100cm. LEAVES ascending then arching, slender, to 40x1.5cm, green, without a collar (=ligule). FLOWER stalk to ~20cm, with thick branches (=racemes) to 6cm packed with ovoid spikelets. SPIKELETS sessile in untidy rows, ovoid, 2-3mmL, conspicuously hairy, terminal spine 10-15mmL (=awn).

SIMILAR SPECIES: See under Jungle-Rice (Echinochloa colonum).

Enlarged Image of 'Echinochloa crus-galli'

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: Present
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
-	-	-	P	-	-	-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Echinochloa crus-galli (Linnaeus)
SYNONYMS: Echinochloa crusgalli [alternate spelling]; Paspalum crus-galli Linnaeus

TAXONOMY: PLANTAE; ANTHOPHYTA (=Angiospermae); LILIOPSIDA (=Monocotyledones); COMMELINIDAE; Cyperales; POACEAE

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Ma‘uke: specimen, 1980s?, B.Sykes with ID as Echinochloa crus-galli (pers.comm. 2006/7).

References:
p.1535 Wagner et al.- Flowering Plants of Hawaii
p.74 Neal - In Gardens of Hawaii
p.413 Hortus 3rd
p.401 Royal Hort. Soc. Index of Garden Plants
p.1/341 A.C.Smith - Flora Vitiensis Nova

Data Update History (information):
zB06b, zD06b

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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