Andropogon virginicus
Common name
broomsedge
Family
Poaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Grasses
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
Conservation status
Not applicable
Habitat
Terrestrial.
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.
Year naturalised
1976
Origin
North and Central America, West Indies
Reason For Introduction
Accidental
Life Cycle Comments
Perennial
Seed
Seeds about 3mm long, brown bearded (Wax, Fawcett, Isley eds. 1981).
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.