Parapholis incurva

History of Spread

The native range of Parapholis incurva (Sickle-Grass) includes south Britain, Ireland, and Europe from northern France to 'all around' the Mediterranean, and east through the Middle East to India. It has been introduced to South America, South Africa, and Australia (Akeroyd 1984). The first North American specimen appears to be be one collected from ship's ballast in Camden NJ in 1878. No further records are known from the Delaware River or Bay (Rhoads and Klein 1993). The earliest Chesapeake record is from Quinby; Bayside) Accomac County, on Hog Island Bay; Accomack County, VA, collected in 1882. Gray (6th edition, 1889), gives the range of as 'MD south to VA, and northward on ballast'. (It was not listed in Gray, 5th edition, 1867), but we have not found the specific MD records.. Hitchcock and Chase's map (1950) gave the range as NJ-VA, with isolated populations in CA and OR. Gleason and Cronquist (1991) give a similar range, but noted an occurrence from NC, where it is now found in 2 coastal counties. Gleason (1968) noted adventive occurrences in the Great Lakes. Parapholis incurva appears to be rare and scattered on the Atlantic Coast, but it is common in southern CA salt marshes (Callaway et al. 1990), and Chase 1950; Gleason and Cronquist 1991). The United States Department of Agriculture 'Plants' database (Natural Resources Conservation Service (2001) also includes records from AL, LA, MS, and TX).

As noted above, Parapholis incurva was apparently collected in MD before 1889 (Gray 1889) but specific locations were not given. Tatnall (1946) listed only VA records from the Eastern shore, which suggests the MD records may have been from the western shore, perhaps Baltimore. The first specific locality record was from Northampton County VA at Hog Island Bay in 1882 (Tatnall 1946). P. incurva has also been collected in Northampton, Virginia Beach and King and Queen Counties in VA (Harvill et al. 1992). Reed (1964) found it on ore piles at Canton MD near Baltimore Harbor, 1964. A specimen of this plant was found in June 1996, in Cove Point Marsh, Calvert County MD (Steury 1997). This species appears to be quite rare in Chesapeake Bay, based on its omission from many statewide or baywide works, especially in MD (Brown and Brown 1984; Shreve et al. 1910; Sipple 1978; Wass 1972).

History References - Akeroyd 1984; Brown and Brown 1984; Callaway et al. 1990; Gleason 1963; Gleason and Cronquist 1991; Gray 1867; Gray 1889; Harvill et al. 1986; Harvill et al. 1992; Hitchcock and Chase 1950; Massey 1961; Natural Resources and Conservation Service 1998; Reed 1964; Rhoads and Klein 1993; Shreve et al. 1910; Sipple 1978; Steury 1997; Tatnall 1946; Torrey Botanical Club 1889; Wass 1972.

Invasion Comments