''Sporobolus indicus'' is a species of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns a ...

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, as an

introduced species An introduced species, alien species, exotic species, adventive species, immigrant species, foreign species, non-indigenous species, or non-native species is a species living outside its native distributional range, but which has arrived ther ...

and a common weed of disturbed habitat. It is naturalized in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

, Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Midway Atoll, and other areas.

Description

''Sporobolus indicus'' is a perennial

bunchgrass Tussock grasses or bunch grasses are a group of grass species in the family Poaceae. They usually grow as singular plants in clumps, tufts, hummocks, or bunches, rather than forming a sod or lawn, in meadows, grasslands, and prairies. As perenni ...

producing a tuft of stems up to about a meter-3 feet tall. The hairless leaves are up to 50 centimeters long. The

inflorescence An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphology (biology), Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of sperma ...

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 The smuts are multicellular fungi 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 (phylu ...

of the genus ''

Bipolaris ''Bipolaris'' is a genus of fungi belonging to the family Pleosporaceae. It was circumscribed by mycologist Robert A. Shoemaker in 1959. Species *'' Bipolaris australis'' *'' Bipolaris brizae'' *'' Bipolaris buchloës'' *'' Bipolaris cactivo ...

'', the reason for the common name smut grass. The 1889 book 'The Useful Native Plants of Australia’ records that common names included "Rat-tail Grass" "Chilian Grass" and that Indigenous People of the Cloncurry River area of Northern Australia called it "Jil-crow-a-berry". It also states that Sporobolus indicus is "A fine, open, pasture grass, found throughout the colonies. Its numerous penetrating roots enable it to resist severe drought. It yields a fair amount of fodder, much relished by stock, but is too coarse for sheep. The seeds form the principal food of many small birds. It has been suggested as a paper-making material."

References

External links

Jepson flora project - ''Sporobolus indicus''''Sporobolus indicus'' - Photo gallery
indicus Bunchgrasses of North America Grasses of the United States Grasses of Mexico Native grasses of California Native grasses of Texas Grasses of Alabama Flora of the Southeastern United States Natural history of the California chaparral and woodlands Natural history of the Peninsular Ranges Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Chloridoideae-stub