Andropogon virginicus
Environmental Weed (2024)
Common names
broomsedge
Biostatus
Exotic
Conservation status
Not applicable
Category
Vascular
Structural class
Grasses
Detailed description
Erect, coarse, brownish, tufted perennial 30–100 cm tall. Roots densely fibrous. Stems solid, slender to stout, slightly flattened, several per tuft, upper part branched. Leaves green or bluish-green, narrow, 15–30 cm long, flat or folded, hairy near base above and on ligule. Sheaths compressed, keeled, enfolding each other. Seedhead long and narrow, with paired racemes of 2–4 clusters, each 10–45 mm long with prominent tufts of white hairs enclosed by reddish-brown leaves. Seed 3 mm long, brown, bearded.
Similar taxa
The solid stems and long narrow seedhead make broomsedge distinctive in New Zealand.
Habitat
Terrestrial.
Detailed taxonomy
Genus
Family
Endemic family
No
Ecology
Year naturalised
1976
Origin
North and Central America, West Indies
Reason for introduction
Accidental
Life cycle and dispersal
Perennial. Seeds about 3mm long, brown bearded (Wax, Fawcett, Isley eds. 1981).
Other information
Environmental Weed (2024)
This plant is named in a list of 386 environmental weeds in New Zealand 2024 prepared by DOC. 759 candidate species were considered for inclusion on this new comprehensive list of environmental weeds in New Zealand. The species considered were drawn from published lists of weed species, lists of plants that must be reported or managed by law if observed, existing national and regional programmes and agreements for pest management, and species already managed by the Department of Conservation (DOC). Candidate species were then assessed to see if they were fully naturalised and whether they have more than minor impacts in natural ecosystems. Read the full report here.
NVS code
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.
ANDVIR
Referencing and citations
References and further reading
Gardner, R.O., Champion. R. and de Lange, P.J. 1996. Andropogon virginicus and Stipa tenuissima. Auckland Botanical Society Journal 51: 31–33.
Wax LM, Fawcett RS, Isley D (eds). 1981. Weeds of the North Central States. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Agriculture, Illinois, USA. 303 p.