Description
Other Taxonomic Groupings - Several of the varieties listed by Gray (Echinochloa crus-galli var. hispidum= E. walteri), and Hitchcock and Chase (1950) (E. c. var. muricata; and E. c. var. frumentacea ) are now full species. Their current names are: E. walteri (Walter's Millet or Coast Cockspur-Grass, native); E. muricata (Rough Barnyard Grass, native and introduced varieties) and E. frumentacea (Billion-Dollar Grass, introduced) (Natural Resources Conservation Service 2002).
Synonymy- Only a partial list is given; Hitchcock and Chase (1950) list 56 synonyms, including varieties. However, some of the names listed by them as synonyms are now regarded as referring to other species (Kartesz 1994).
Potentially Misidentified Species - Echinoloa walteri(Walter's Millet) and E. muricata var. microstachya (Rough Barnyard Grass) are native (Brown and Brown 1950; Hitchcock and Chase 1950). E. colonum (Jungle-Rice) is introduced in the watershed (VA), but has not been reported from tidal marshes in Chesapeake Bay to our knowledge.
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plantae | Magnoliophyta | Liliopsida | Cyperales | Poaceae | Echinoloa |
Synonyms
Invasion History
Chesapeake Bay Status
| First Record | Population | Range | Introduction | Residency | Source Region | Native Region | Vectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1739 | Established | Stable | Introduced | Boundary Resident | Europe | Eurasia | Shipping(Dry Ballast), Agriculture(Agricultural Weed) |
History of Spread
Echinochloa crus-galli (Barnyard Grass) is now cosmopolitan, and its original range is unknown (Cook 1985), but an Asian or Eurasian origin is likely (Holm et al. 1977). It was collected by Clayton in VA in the 1730's (Gronovius 1739; Reveal 1983) and was also among colonial (before 1753) MD herbarium specimens listed by Brown et al. (1987), It was an early introduction to North America, probably introduced in the 17th century (Wells and Brown 2001). It was listed by Pursh (1814), and by Gray (1848) ('moist, chiefly manured soil'). Presumably it came to North America with seed, farm implements, etc., and may have also been deliberately planted as a pasture grass. Echinochloa crus-galli probably followed the spread of European methods of cultivation closely. It is now widespread across the United States (Hitchcock and Chase 1950; Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998).
Echinochloa crus-galli was listed for Baltimore by Aikin (1837) and for the District of Columbia by Brereton (1830), and by all subsequent Washington-Baltimore floras. It is now found in nearly all VA counties, and is also widespread in MD; where it is an abundant and troublesome weed (Brown and Brown 1984; Harvill et al. 1992). It was reported from tidal marsh edges by Wass (1972), in the seed bank of Hamilton Marshes, Delaware River NJ (Leck et al. 1988); and from beach margins in King George County VA (Simmons et al. 1995), and is likely to occur elsewhere.
History References - Aikin 1837; Brereton 1830; Brown and Brown 1984; Cook 1985; Gray 1848; Gronovius 1739; Harvill et al. 1992; Hitchcock and Chase 1950; Leck et al. 1988; Pursh 1814; Reveal 1983; Simmons et al. 1995; Wass 1972; Wells and Brown 2001
Invasion Comments
Ecology
Environmental Tolerances
| For Survival | For Reproduction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
| Temperature (ºC) | ||||
| Salinity (‰) | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||
| Oxygen | ||||
| pH | ||||
| Salinity Range | fresh-meso |
Age and Growth
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Typical Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Maximum Adult Size (mm) | ||
| Maximum Longevity (yrs) | ||
| Typical Longevity (yrs |
Reproduction
| Start | Peak | End | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive Season | |||
| Typical Number of Young Per Reproductive Event |
|||
| Sexuality Mode(s) | |||
| Mode(s) of Asexual Reproduction |
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| Fertilization Type(s) | |||
| More than One Reproduction Event per Year |
|||
| Reproductive Startegy | |||
| Egg/Seed Form |
Impacts
Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay
Echinochloa crus-galli (Barnyard Grass) is an abundant weed in upland areas, but probably has few impacts on native biota in tidal areas, except from herbicides used to control it in lawns and fields on land. It is cultivated as a pasture grass, but is also a common weed of moist disturbed areas (Brown and Brown 1984; Hitchcock and Chase 1950).
References- Brown and Brown 1984; Hitchcock and Chase 1950
Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay
Echinochloa crus-galli (Barnyard Grass) is a widespread grass of moist soil, sometimes planted as a pasture grass, but also a frequent weed in cultivated fields across the United States (Agricultural Research Service 1971; Hitchcock and Chase 1950).
Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species
Echinochloa crus-galli (Barnyard Grass) is an abundant weed in upland areas (Brown and Brown 1984; Hitchcock and Chase 1950), but probably has few impacts on native biota in tidal areas.
References- Brown and Brown 1984; Hitchcock and Chase 1950
Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species
Echinochloa crus-galli (Barnyard Grass) is an abundant weed in upland areas (Brown and Brown 1984; Hitchcock and Chase 1950), but probably has few impacts on exotic biota in tidal areas.
References- Brown and Brown 1984; Hitchcock and Chase 1950
References
Agricultural Research Service (1971) Common weeds of the United States., In: (Eds.) . , Washington, D.C.. Pp.Aikin, W. E. A. (1837) Catalogue of phenogamous plants and ferns, native or naturalized, growing in the vicinity of Baltimore, Maryland., Transactions of the Maryland Academy of Sciences and Literature 1: 55-91
Brereton, J. A. (1830) Prodromus of the Flora Columbiana, , Washington, D.C.. Pp.
Brown, Melvin L.; Brown, Russell G. (1984) Herbaceous Plants of Maryland, , College Park. Pp.
Brown, Melvin L.; Reveal, J. L; Broome, C. R.; Frick, George F. (1987) Comments on the vegetation of colonial Maryland, Huntia 7: 247-283
Cook, Christopher D. K. (1985) Range extensions of aquatic vascular plant species, Journal of Aquatic Plant Management 23: 1-6
Godfrey, R. K.; Wooten, Jean W. (1979) Aquatic and Wetland Plants of the Southeastern United States: Monocotyledones., In: (Eds.) . , Athens. Pp.
Gray, Asa (1848) A manual of botany of the northern United States., In: (Eds.) . , Boston. Pp.
Gronovius, Johannes Fredericius (1739) Flora Virginica exhibens plantas quas V. C. Johannes Clayton in Virginia observavit atque collegit., , London. Pp.
Harvill, A. M.; Bradley, Ted R.; Stevens, Charles E.; Wieboldt, Thomas F.; Ware, Donna M. E.; Ogle, Douglas W.; Ramsey, Gwynn W.; Fleming, Gary P. (1992) Atlas of the Virginia Flora, , Burkeville, VA. Pp.
Hitchcock, A. S.; Chase, Agnes (1950) Manual of Grasses of the United States., In: (Eds.) . , Washington, D.C.. Pp.
Kartesz, John T. (1994) A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland., In: (Eds.) . , Portland OR. Pp.
Krauss, R.W.; Brown, R. G.; Rappleye, R. D.; Owens, A. B.; Shearer, C.; Hsiao, E.; Reveal, J. (1971) Checklist of plant species occurring within the hightide limits of the Chesapeake Bay, and its tributaries., , College Park, Maryland. Pp.
Leck, Mary A.; Simpson, Robert L.; Whigham, Dennis F., Leck, Charles F. (1988) Plants of the Hamilton marshes, a Delaware River freshwater tidal wetland, Bartonia 54: 1-17
1997-2024 USDA PLANTS Database.. Onine databse
Pursh, Frederick (1814) Flora Americae Septentrionalis or, a Systematic Arrangement and Description of the Plants of North America, , Hirschburg. Pp.
Resource Management Inc. (1993) National list of plant species that occur in wetlands., , Minneapolis.. Pp.
Reveal, James L. (1983) Significance of pre-1753 botanical explorations in temperate North America on Linnaeus' first edition of Species Plantarum, Phytologia 53: 1-96
Simmons, Mark P.; Ware, Donna M.; Hayden, W. John (1995) The vascular flora of the Potomac River watershed of King George County, Virginia, Castanea 60: 179-209
Wass, Melvin L. (1972) A checklist of the biota of lower Chesapeake Bay, Special Scientific Report, Virginia Institute of Marine Science 65: 1-290
Wells, Elizabeth Fortson; Brown, Rebecca Louise (2000) An annotated checklist of the vascular plants in the forest at historic Mount Vernon: A legacy from the past., Castanea 65: 242-257