Quick Facts

Quick facts

• Common Brachiaria (Urochloa glumaris) is a creeping perennial grass with slender stems that root at the lower nodes.
• It prefers moist, sunny or shaded situations in lawns, pastures, waste places, plantations, upland rice fields, riverbanks and roadsides.
• It is not currently naturalised in Australia.
• It is dispersed by seeds and root fragments carried externally by animals.
• It has several native relatives in Australia.

What Does It Look Like?

What is it?

Common Brachiaria (Urochloa glumaris) [as Brachiaria paspaloides] is a perennial, creeping grass with slender stems that root at the lower nodes and reach 75 cm high. The leaf blades are narrow, 5–30 cm long by 0.3–1 cm wide, hairy on both surfaces and are commonly purplish. The ligule (membranous structure) at the junction of the leaf blade and sheath is 1 mm long.

The inflorescence (flower structure) axis is 4–13 cm long and rough to the touch, with two to five side branches 1.5–8 cm long and one-sided. The flower clusters are green or purplish, paired and loosely overlapping, and are 3.5–4 mm long (Shouliang & Phillips 2006; PIER 2008).

For further information and assistance with identification of Common Brachiaria, contact the herbarium in your state or territory.

Flower colour

Purple, Green

Growth form (weed type/habit)

Grass

Where it currently grows? Preferred habitat

Common Brachiaria is found in moist, sunny or shaded situations in lawns, pastures, waste places, plantations, upland rice fields, riverbanks and roadsides from 0–1,200 m altitude, and often forming mats on the dry mud of riverbanks (PIER 2008).

Are there similar species?

Common Brachiaria has several native relatives in Australia. The use of keys and descriptions for the species occurring in Australia, such as in Sharp & Simon (2002), can provide help in identification of the correct species.

For further information and assistance with identification of Common Brachiaria, contact the herbarium in your state or territory.

Why Is It A Weed?

What are its impacts?

Agriculture: Common Brachiaria is a serious weed of coffee, tea and rice plantations and of orchards in Borneo and Malaysia, and is widespread in Indonesia (Waterhouse & Mitchell 1998).

How does it spread?

Common Brachiaria disperses by seeds and root fragments carried externally by animals (PIER 2008).

What is its history in Australia?

Common Brachiaria is not currently naturalised in Australia.

How To Manage It?

Best practice management

There is no information available on control of Common Brachiaria.

Does it have a biological control agent?

NO

When does it grow? (lifecycle/growth calendar)

In China, Common Brachiaria flowers and fruits from late spring to autumn (Shouliang & Phillips 2006).

Where Is It Found?

Which states and territories is it found?

Not naturalised in any Australian state or territory.

What areas within states and territories is it found?

Common Brachiaria is not currently naturalised in Australia.

Where does it originate?

Common Brachiaria is native to India, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka (Shouliang & Phillips 2006).

National And State Weed Listings

Is it a Weed of National Significance (WONS)?

NO

Where is it a declared weed?

NT

Government weed strategies and lists – Weeds Australia

Is it on the National Alert List for Environmental Weeds?

NO

Government weed strategies and lists – Weeds Australia

Is it on the Agricultural Sleeper List?

NO

Government weed strategies and lists – Weeds Australia

Names And Taxonomy

Main scientific name

Urochloa glumaris

Other scientific names (synonyms)?

• Brachiaria ambigua (Trin.) Presl.
• Panicum ambiguum Trin.
• Panicum glumare Trin.
• Urochloa paspaloides J.S.Presl.

Does it have other known common name(s)?

Thurston Grass, Common Signal Grass