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  4. Cortaderia jubata

Cortaderia jubata

North of Silverstream Scenic Reserve, Upper Hutt.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 05/04/2006, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Leaf blade with prominent midrib but no lateral ribs. North of Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 16/04/2006, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Leaf sheath curled and fractured. Stokes Valley, Lower Hutt.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 24/04/2006, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Cortaderia jubata.<br>Photographer: John Smith-Dodsworth, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0'>CC BY-NC</a>.
Cortaderia jubata (purple inflorescences) with Austroderia fulvida (brown inflorescences) in foreground. Puntagirua Stream, Paliser Bay.<br>Photographer: Jeremy R. Rolfe, Date taken: 20/02/2010, Licence: <a target='_blank' href='https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0'>CC BY</a>. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Cortaderia jubata.<br>Photographer: Mike Thorsen, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Cortaderia jubata.<br>Photographer: Mike Thorsen, Licence: All rights reserved. <a class='member-message' href='/nzpcn/why-join-nzpcn/' target='_blank'>Members can view a larger version of this image.</a>
Pest plant

NPPA pest plant

Environmental Weed

Environmental Weed (2024)

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Common names

purple pampas grass

Biostatus

Exotic

Category

Vascular

Structural class

Grasses

Flower colours

Violet/Purple

Detailed description

Large-clump-forming grass to 3 m+. Leaf base very hairy, no white waxy surface. Leaves with conspicuous midrib which does not continue into leaf base, no secondary veins between midrib and leaf edge; both leaf surfaces dark green, snap readily when tugged; dead leaf bases spiral like wood shavings. Flowerhead erect, dense, uniform, fluffy, bright purple, fading to dirty brown.

Similar taxa

Can be separated from native toetoe (Austroderia spp.) by the prominent single midrib on the leaves (native cortaderia have several prominent veins, making their leaves difficult to tear across). Can be separated from C. selloana by the hairy leaf bases, and the white (to pale pink) flowering spike extends further from the clump.

Habitat

Terrestrial. Forest light gaps, slips, margins, disturbed sites, open habitats, riverbeds, cliffs, inshore and offshore islands, tussockland, fernland, herbfield, duneland, coastline, gumlands, salt marsh, estuaries, shrublands.

Conservation status

Not applicable

Detailed taxonomy

Family

Poaceae

Authority

Cortaderia jubata (Lemoine) Stapf

Ecology

Flowering

January, February, March

Fruiting

March–April (Timmins & MacKenzie 1995).

Year naturalised

1965

Origin

South America

Reason for introduction

Cortaderia jubata

Tolerances

Adult plants are tolerant of drought and frost, prefers high light. Seedlings are intolerant to drought and slightly tolerant of frost, slightly intolerant to intolerant of poor drainage.

Life cycle and dispersal

Perennial. Seed germination occurs in autumn. The plants breeding system is autonomous apomixis and the flower type is apomictic. All plants are female and all flowers are capable of producing seed without pollination. Reproduction primarily by seed but clumps can get quite large. All plants are female but viable seed is produced by apomixis. Seed production is high, averaging one million per inflorescence in first year of flowering. It is unlikely that this plant forms a long term seed bank.

Seed is dispersed by gravity, man, vertebrates, machinery, in gravel and by wind. The seed is very light and is wind dispersed up to 50km.

Other information

National Pest Plant Accord species

This plant is listed in the 2020 National Pest Plant Accord. The National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA) is an agreement to prevent the sale and/or distribution of specified pest plants where either formal or casual horticultural trade is the most significant way of spreading the plant in New Zealand. For up to date information and an electronic copy of the 2020 Pest Plant Accord manual (including plant information and images) visit the MPI website.

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.

CORJUB

Referencing and citations

References and further reading

Timmins SM, Mackenzie IW. 1995. Weeds in New Zealand Protected Natural Areas database. Department of Conservation Technical Series 8. Department of Conservation, Wellington, NZ. 282 p.

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