Cortaderia jubata is a species of grass known by several common names, including purple pampas grass and Andean pampas grass. It is similar to its more widespread relative, the pampas grass C. selloana, but it can get quite a bit taller, approaching seven meters in height at maximum.
| Cortaderia jubata | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Cortaderia |
| Species: | C. jubata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Cortaderia jubata | |
| Synonyms | |
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Cortaderia atacamensis | |
This grass is native to the northern Andes but it is well-known elsewhere as an invasive species noxious weed. This grass has only pistillate parts, that is, all individuals are female. It reproduces by apomixis, in which embryos develop without fertilization.
Description
editThis pampas grass, Cortaderia jubata, has long, thin, razor-edged leaves forming a large bunch grass tussock from which the eye-catching inflorescences arise. At the top of a stem several meters in height is an inflorescence of plumelike spikelets. These panicles are pink or purplish when new and they gradually turn cream or white. Each inflorescence is packed full of fruits which develop despite the plant's having never been fertilized. Each plant produces millions of seeds per year. They disperse easily by several methods, including wind, water, and soil transport.
Invasive species
editNew Zealand
editIn New Zealand C. jubata is listed on the National Pest Plant Accord prohibiting it from sale, and commercial propagation and distribution.[1]
United States
editCortaderia jubata grows well in the conditions provided by the cool, moist California coast, where it was presumably an introduced species as an attractive ornamental plant.[2] It is a common weed of Redwood National and State Parks, the Central Coast region, and Big Sur, as well as other coastal hillsides and roadsides throughout the state. The plant competes with native vegetation, interferes with the natural scenery of the unique ecosystems and habitats (i.e. redwood and coastal sage scrub), harbors pest species such as rats, and produces large amounts of dry foliage which is a wildfire hazard.
European Union
editThe plant features on the list of invasive alien species of Union concern.[3] This means that it cannot be traded anymore.[4]
Invasion biology
editC. jubata is morphologically similar to the related invasive plant, C. selloana.[5] The invasion success of both is most strongly limited by mammalian herbivory.[5][6]
References
edit- ^ "National Pest Plant Accord 2008" (PDF). 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-10-15. Retrieved 2009-01-26.
- ^ Stephenson, John R.; Calcarone, Gina M. (1999). "Factors Influencing Ecosystem Integrity". Southern California Mountains and Foothills Assessment: Habitat and Species Conservation Issues. General Technical Report GTR-PSW-172. Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture. p. 82.
- ^ "List of invasive alien species of European concern". June 2021. Archived from the original on 2017-07-29.
- ^ "European Regulation on IAS". June 2021. Archived from the original on 2015-09-10.
- ^ a b Levine, Jonathan M.; Adler, Peter B.; Yelenik, Stephanie G. (2004). "A meta-analysis of biotic resistance to exotic plant invasions". Ecology Letters. 7 (10): 975–989. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2004.00657.x. S2CID 85852363.
- ^ Lambrinos, John G. (2002). "The Variable Invasive Success of Cortaderia Species in a Complex Landscape". Ecology. 83 (2): 518–529. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2002)083[0518:TVISOC]2.0.CO;2. ISSN 0012-9658. S2CID 86181848.