Rottboellia cochinchinensis

Common Name: itch grass

Family: Poaceae

Common Synonyms: none

USDA Hardiness Zone: NA

Growth Habit: Graminoid

Origin: Southeast Asia

FISC Category: -

FDACS Listed Noxious Weed: Yes

Introduction Date: Earliest Florida specimen vouchered in 1959

IFAS Assessment:

North: PROHIBITED
Central: PROHIBITED
South: PROHIBITED

Rottboellia cochinchinensis — USDA APHIS PPQ - Oxford, North Carolina , USDA APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org

Description

Annual grass with stems and leaves covered with stiff, irritating hairs. Culms develop prop roots from the lower nodes. Stems can reach 3 m in height. Leaf blades are flat and up to 45 cm in length and 2 cm wide, with very rough margins. Ligules are short, brown, and fringed with hairs. Inflorescence is a cylindrical raceme, 3 to 15 cm long, that breaks apart into segments at maturity.

Habitat

Prefers disturbed, dry habitats including road shoulders, railways, and agricultural fields.

Comments

Control Methods

Manual: Mechanical: Small patches of itchgrass may be removed by hand.
Chemical: NA
Biological: NA

Control Notes

No specific recommendations available

References

IFAS Invasive Plant Assessment (http://assessment.ifas.ufl.edu/assessments/rottboellia-cochinchinensis/)

Invasive Species Compendium (http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/47782)

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