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Species
Melinis minutiflora Beauv.
IUCN
NCBI
EOL Text
minutiflora: with very small flowers
Semi-evergreen forests
Flowering and fruiting: November-December
Flowering class: Monocot Habit: Herb
More info for the term: mesic
In Hawaii, molasses grass occurs in dry and mesic lowland communities (see Habitat Types And Plant Communities) [49] and along roadsides [52]. In Florida, molasses grass occurs on dry, disturbed sites [53,54,55].
Climate: In Hawaii, where the climate is warm-tropical, molasses grass occurs where the mean annual air temperature is 76 °F (23 °C) and annual rainfall ranges from 60 to 80 inches (1,500-2,000 mm). There is a pronounced dry period during the summer [13].
Elevation: In Hawaii, molasses grass occurs from sea level to 4,900 feet (0-1,500 m) [38,50,52].
Soils: In Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, molasses grass grows on ash-derived soils over pahoehoe lava [11]. Parsons [34] says that molasses grass thrives best on thin soils.
More info on this topic.
In Hawaii, molasses grass flowering occurs in a synchronous burst in late November. Seed set and leaf die back occur simultaneously during January and February. New leaves begin to appear in March and April [11]. Each year, most new molasses grass leaves are produced along the upper end of existing stems or on new short lateral branches of older stems [12]. In Florida, molasses grass flowers in the fall [53,54,55].
United States
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Unknown/Undetermined
Confidence: Confident
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | NatureServe |
Source | http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchName=Melinis+minutiflora |
More info for the terms: mesic, shrub, shrubs
No information was found in the available literature that described habitat
types or plant communities in areas of Africa where molasses grass is native. In
Peru, molasses grass occurs in bluestem (Andropogon lanatum, A. leucostachyus)
savannas [36]. Molasses grass occurs in Florida [53,54,55]. Information regarding plant communities in which it occurs
in Florida is sparse. It has been collected in pastures [43] and in south Florida slash pine
(Pinus elliottii var. densa) rocklands in Miami-Dade County [15].
Hawaii: Molasses grass is common in
primarily dry to mesic, disturbed, usually open areas in the Hawaiian Islands.
It occurs in coastal areas, in lowland dry shrublands and forests, and in lowland mesic
grasslands and forests [49].
Most coastal areas once dominated by native pili grass (Heteropogon contortus)
are now dominated by nonnative shrubs and trees on gently sloping to level
lowlands; however, pili grass is still dominant on very steep slopes, cliff
ledges, and eroded areas. In many of these areas, however, pili grass appears to
have been replaced by nonnative grasses including molasses grass, Natal redtop
(Melinis repens), and fountain grass (Pennisetum setaceum) [49].
Molasses grass occurs in 3 native lowland dry shrubland community types and 2
native lowland dry forest community types described by Wagner and others [49].
On leeward Moloka`i, molasses grass occurs in a nonnative-dominated herb layer
with Natal redtop in a rare community dominated by the native shrub `ohai (Sesbania
tomentosa); and in open shrublands codominated by the native shrubs ko`oko`olau
(Bidens menziesii subsp. menziesii) and `āweoweo
(Chenopodium oahuense) where the sparse grass understory also includes
pili grass, annual panicgrass (Panicum spp.), and Natal redtop. Nonnative
grasses, including molasses grass, may be present but not dominant in native `a`ali`i
(Dodonaea viscosa)-dominated shrublands. Molasses grass occurs in native koa
(Acacia koa) forest communities and in a unique forest community dominated
by olopua (Nestegis sandwicensis) and lama (Diospyros sandwicensis)
that is heavily damaged by axis deer and invaded by several nonnative plants, in
addition to molasses grass [49].
In lowland mesic communities, molasses grass occurs in 2 grassland types and 2
forest types described by Wagner and others [49], and it is included among
several nonnative plant species that may be Âcapable of displacing some native
lowland mesic shrublands. Many occurrences of the kāwelu (Eragrostis variabilis)
grassland community type are invaded by nonnative grasses including molasses
grass. A molasses grass community type occurs on most of the main islands in the
same geographic, climatic, and edaphic settings as mesic shrublands and kāwelu
grasslands, on sites formerly dominated by native and other nonnative grasses and
released from grazing pressure. Molasses grass also occurs in native `ōhi`a
(Metrosideros polymorpha) forest types and in nonnative Brazilian pepper
(Schinus terebinthifolius) forest types, which typically occur on abandoned
agricultural sites and pasturelands [49].
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Global Distribution
Tropical Africa, introduced in many tropical countries.
Indian distribution
State - Kerala, District/s: Idukki
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