Species

Urochloa mutica

Common Name(s)

para grass

Authority

Urochloa mutica (Forssk.) T.-Q.Nguyen

Family

Poaceae

Flora Category

Vascular - Exotic

NVS Species Code

UROMUT

The National Vegetation Survey (NVS) Databank is a physical archive and electronic databank containing records of over 94,000 vegetation survey plots - including data from over 19,000 permanent plots. NVS maintains a standard set of species code abbreviations that correspond to standard scientific plant names from the Ngä Tipu o Aotearoa - New Zealand Plants database.

Structural Class

Grasses

Habitat

Terrestrial. Maximum growth is attained in swampy places and stream banks, however it can tolerate and persist in partial shade.

Features

Stoloniferous perennial grass which grows up to 2m tall. The culm is 2-5 mm diameter, and simple or narrowly branched. Leaf blades are about 20 cm long, hairy and up to 16 mm wide. The panicle consists of up to 12 racemes on a rachis up to 16 cm long. Each raceme has numerous paired spikelets.

Similar Taxa

The large velvety leaves, covered in hairs with small wart-like swelling at the base distinguish this species.

Year Naturalised

1977

Origin

North Africa

Reason For Introduction
Agricultural

Reproduction
Spread is primarily by long stolons and bending branches, both of which root at the nodes. Spread of the species by seed is unlikely as flowering is uncommon and sparse. The climate on Raoul Island is probably too cool for seed to set, and marginal for flower initiation (Skerman and Riveros 1990 in West 1996).

This page last updated on 9 Jun 2010