[APWG] Todays plants at Mill Creek nature walk

Tue Sep 12 21:24:33 CDT 2017

Speaking of our removal on September 10 of all the Arthraxon hispidus to save  the wonderful pristine trail along Mill creek in Calvert County, note: http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/\\ <http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/> 

 <http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/invader_of_the_month.html> 

 <http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/invader_of_the_month.html> September 2017 

 <http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/invader_of_the_month.html> A Wavyleaf Wannabe

Small carpetgrass
(Arthraxon hispidus)

 <http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/invader_of_the_month.html> Read the Press Release

 <http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/archived_invaders/index.html> Archived Invaders

 <http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/invader_of_the_month.html> 

Photo by K. L. Kyde.

September 2017

A Wavyleaf Wannabe
Small carpetgrass - Arthraxon hispidus

Marc Imlay and Kerrie Kyde, for more information please contact Marc Imlay: ialm at erols.com <mailto:ialm at erols.com> 

Seed-bearing racemes of Arthraxon hispidus. Photo by K. L. Kyde.

Leaves of Arthraxon fully encircle the stem, distiguishing the species from many other invasive grasses of Maryland. Photo by K. L. Kyde.

ANNAPOLIS, MD (September 01, 2017) - In the last days of summer, walking in the lawn in your bare feet, you may encounter small carpetgrass, Arthraxon hispidus. Also known as hairy joint grass, jointhead, and occasionally referred to as small carpgrass, this Asian annual has been reported as introduced in 28 states, primarily in the southeastern US. It appears on a number of non-regulatory invasive plant lists, and Connecticut and Massachusetts both prohibit its importation and sale. In Maryland, it can be highly invasive in sunny or partially shaded moist habitats. Because this grass is in bloom in early fall, the Maryland Invasive Species Council has chosen small carpetgrass as the September Invader of the Month.

Small carpetgrass is a sprawling annual grass native to southeast Asia, from the maritime region of Russia west to India and to Africa. Its bright green relatively short leaves (1-3") clasp the wiry stems, and taper to blunt points. The leaf edges and sheaths have short white bristles. The grass forms dense clumps and each culm or stem can fall and root at the nodes. Arthraxon flowers in September in our region, and produces a cluster of short flowering fingers at the top of the plant, each 2-3" long. The fingers are made of several green to purple grass spikelets, each with a tiny pointed awn. The yellowish seeds mature in mid to late fall.

The leaf edges of small carpetgrass undulate: removed from the plant and laid out for observation, they will not lie flat. The clasping leaves and hairy leaf edges make it easy to confuse with the native species deer tongue, Dichanthelium clandestinum. The waviness of the leaf edges causes observers to mistake it for wavyleaf basketgrass, Oplismenus undulatifolius. Land managers frequently believe that they have an infestation of wavyleaf when they actually have small carpetgrass. It is often present in the same habitat as Japanese stiltgrass, Microstegium vimineum, a third similar-looking grass, but does not have stiltgrass' bright white midrib of hairs.

Arthraxon may have been brought to the U.S. from Japan for the 1876 International Exhibition in Philadelphia, and subsequently introduced as packaging material or garden escapes. By 1935, when Hitchcock described it formally, it was already widely distributed here, from Pennsylvania to Florida, with occurrences as far west as Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Although small carpetgrass does not tolerate low pH soils, it is adapted to a range of habitats with moist conditions, including floodplains, stream edges, roadside ditches, wet meadows, moist woodlands, and even joints in sidewalks. In Maryland, it is widely distributed across the state. US Fish and Wildlife Service reports that it threatens the federally listed endangered species harperella, due to its dense clumping habit and competition for the water's edge and shallow stream environments where harperella grows.

Left: Japanese stiltgrass, center: wavyleaf basketgrass, right: small carpet grass.
Photo by K. L. Kyde.

Small carpetgrass can be easily hand weeded, although for large infestations, chemical control with 2% glyphosate applied carefully by backpack sprayer is effective. Biological control agents exist - both insects and fungi, one of which may be host specific - but none are approved for release.

For more information about other Invasive Species of Concern in Maryland, visit the Maryland Invasive Species Council <http://www.mdinvasivesp.org/>  or call the Maryland Department of Agriculture at 410-841-5920.

For more information, see:

http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/112458

Species work-up in http://invasions.si.edu/nemesis/

USDA Plants Database: https://plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=arhi3

US Forest Service Weed of the Week: https://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/invasive_plants/weeds/jointhead-grass.pdf

 <http://facebook.com/mdinvasivesp> 

The Japanese Stiltgrass was over a long stretch ~ 50 feet. It was so nice to save the comingled native deer tongue and arrow arum from the dense stiltgrass. 

From: Southern Maryland Executive Committee [mailto:MD-SMD-EXCOM at LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG] On Behalf Of lila.west
Sent: Sunday, September 10, 2017 5:12 PM
To: MD-SMD-EXCOM at LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG <mailto:MD-SMD-EXCOM at LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG> 
Subject: [MD-SMD-EXCOM] Todays plants at Mill Creek nature walk

New plants seen today, invasive carpet grass(Arthraxon hispidus) .  Incipient population removed. All gone!  Native peppergrass was enjoyed.  

Entire population of beafsteak mint, which is poison to cattle but good for people, with a sweet taste and according to internet: Purdue Weed Science Extension, a spicey vegetable, &  english ivy, was removed.  Entire population of japanese stiltgrass at the trail enterance was removed.  4 people worked 2 hours and then ejoyed gourmet pbj and banana on whole wheat bread, lemonade and watermelon,  at roadside facing lovely creek. Saw Jack-in-the- pulpit red berry clusters.  

Birds spotted:  wren, kingfisher, red tailed hawk.

New Bare dirt areas will be good for butterfly plantings in 2 weeks!  Rich, moist soil, where nobody mows!   

Thank you Marc  and Alice for leading this effort.

Lila West, cochair Smd Sierra Group

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
On Saturday, July 22, ten of us had a wonderful nature walk in Lusby, with invasive & native species identification. The nature walk along Mill creek in Chesapeake Ranch Estates had an incredible biological diversity of native plants, animals, and mushrooms. The non-native invasive species are in an early stage.  Ticks were absent. 

Natives included leaf miner, Trumpet vine, native orchid,  no deer, no ticks, running cedar, partridge berry, striped wintergreen, New York fern, sensitive fern, cinnamon fern, Skunk Cabbage, jewel weed (touch me not, which Ed touched), and many others. We removed invasive beefsteak plant at the trail entrance and a patch of invasive Sericea lespedeza. The only difficult to remove non-native invasive species we encountered was Japanese Stiltgrass. No garlic mustard or English Ivy were encountered. Wow. Let’s do a survey for the larger natural area, say about 15 acres, and have regular volunteer events at this wonderful Calvert County natural area.  Could participants please share other information about the hike including photos. Cheers.

Marc Imlay

MD Chapter Sierra Club Natural Places Chair. 

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