Description
Synonymy- This is a partial list; Hitchcock and Chase (1950) list 21 synonyms.
Potentially Misidentified Species- Digitaria ischaemum (Smooth Crabgrass) and D. sanguinalis (Hairy Crabgrass) are introduced and common in lawns and disturbed upland areas. Digitaria serotina (Dwarf Crabgrass) is native, and more of a true wetland plant (Godfrey and Wooten 1979).
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plantae | Magnoliophyta | Liliopsida | Cyperales | Poaceae | Cynodon |
Synonyms
Invasion History
Chesapeake Bay Status
| First Record | Population | Range | Introduction | Residency | Source Region | Native Region | Vectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1881 | Established | Stable | Introduced | Boundary Resident | Europe | Eurasia | Shipping(Dry Ballast), Agriculture(Agricultural Weed), Ornamental(Garden Escape) |
History of Spread
Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda Grass), a Eurasian native, was among colonial (before 1753) MD herbarium specimens listed by Brown et al. (1987), and collected by John Clayton in Virginia in the 1730's (Gronovius 1739; Reveal 1983). It was listed by Pursh (1814) as 'on roadsides and in cultivated ground, frequent', and by Gray (1848) as occurring in 'sandy waste places, Penn. and southwards'. Cynodon dactylon could have come to North America with seed, farm implements, etc., but it has also been reported from dry ballast in Philadelphia and Boston (Smith 1867; Perkins 1883). Since it is a widely used pasture and lawn grass (Hitchcock and Chase 1950), deliberate planting is also possible. C. dactylon is now found from FL to TX and NH to WA (Hitchcock and Chase 1950; Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998).
Cynodon dactylon was not listed for Baltimore by Aikin (1837) or for Washington DC by Brereton (1830), but was included by subsequent Washington-Baltimore floras (Sollers 1888; Ward 1881; Hitchcock and Standley 1919). It is found in nearly all VA counties (Harvill et al. 1992), and also is widespread in MD, where it was called 'a bad weed in lawns and cultivated fields' (Brown and Brown 1984). It was reported from 'salt marshes' by Tatnall (1946), from 'salt marsh' on Assateague Island (Hill 1986), and from mesohaline beach margins of the Potomac in King George County, VA (Simmons et al. 1995), and likely elsewhere. It is found on the beach, down to high-tide line at North Point State Park; Edgemere MD, just north of Baltimore Harbor and along high tideline by docks and in disturbed marshes in Shady Side MD (Fofonoff, unpublished data). Cynodon dactylon probably occurs occasionally at the edges of disturbed intertidal areas throughout the Bay.
History References.-Aikin 1837; Brereton 1830; Brown and Brown 1984; Gray 1848; Gronovius 1739; Harvill et al. 1992; Higgins et al. 1971; Hitchcock and Chase 1950; Hitchcock and Standley 1919; Krauss et al. 1971; Natural Resources Conservation Service 1998; Perkins 1883; Pursh 1814; Reveal 1983; Simmons et al. 1995; Smith 1867; Sollers 1888; Ward 1881
Invasion Comments
Likely Vectors of Introduction- Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda Grass) is sometimes planted as a pasture or lawn grass (Hitchcock and Chase 1950), so 'garden escape' was listed. It also has been reported from dry ballast (Perkins 1883; Smith 1867).
Ecology
Environmental Tolerances
| For Survival | For Reproduction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
| Temperature (ºC) | ||||
| Salinity (‰) | 0.0 | 0.0 | ||
| Oxygen | ||||
| pH | ||||
| Salinity Range | fresh-poly |
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
Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda Grass) is only rare and local at the edge of tidal marshes and beaches. Inland it is 'a bad weed in lawns and cultivated fields since the rhizomes can grow through potato tubers; seldom useful for pasture in Maryland' (Brown and Brown 1984). References- Brown and Brown 1984
Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay
Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda Grass) is an important pasture grass in the southern U.S., and is widely cultivated as a lawn grass, but can also be a troublesome weed in cultivated fields (Hitchcock and Chase 1950). It is listed as a noxious agricultural weed in 35 states (Natural Resources Conservation Service 2001).
References- Hitchcock and Chase 1950; Natural Resources Conservation Service 2001
Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species
Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda Grass) is a common invasive plant in disturbed terrestrial habitats (Hitchcock and Chase 1950; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service 2001), but is rare in the intertidal zone, and is assumed to have limited impacts on native biota there. It was listed as 'moderately invasive' in VA (Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation 1999).
References- Hitchcock and Chase 1950; Natural Resources Conservation Service 2001; Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation 1999
Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species
Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda Grass) is a common invasive plant in disturbed terrestrial habitats (Hitchcock and Chase 1950; Natural Resources Conservation Service 2001), but is rare in the intertidal zone, and is assumed to have limited impacts on exotic biota there.
References- Hitchcock and Chase 1950; Natural Resources Conservation Service 2001
References
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: 55-91Brereton, 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
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.
Higgins, Elizabeth A. T.; Rappelye, Robert D.; Brown, Russell G. (1971) The flora and ecology of Assateague Island, University of Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin A-17: 1-61
Hill, Steven R. (1986) An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of Assateague Island (Maryland and Virginia), Castanea 51: 265-305
Hitchcock, A. S.; Chase, Agnes (1950) Manual of Grasses of the United States., In: (Eds.) . , Washington, D.C.. Pp.
Hitchcock, A. S.; Standley, P. C. (1919) Flora of the District of Columbia and Vicinity., In: (Eds.) . , Washington, D. C.. 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.
1997-2024 USDA PLANTS Database.. Onine databse
Perkins, Charles E. (1883) Ballast plants in Boston and vicinity, Botanical Gazette 8: 188-190
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
Smith, Aubrey H. (1867) On colonies of plants observed near Philadelphia, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 19: 15-22
Sollers, Basil (1888) Check list of plants compiled for the vicinity of Baltimore., , Baltimore. Pp.
Tatnall, Robert R. (1946) Flora of Delaware and the Eastern Shore, , Wilmington. Pp.
1999 Invasive Alien Plant Species of Virginia. http://www.state.va.us/~dcr/dnh/invlist.htm
Ward, L. F. (1881) Guide to the flora of Washington and Vicinity, United States National Museum Bulletin 22: 1-264