Cortaderia jubata
Encyclopedia
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.
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.
s arise. At the top of a stem several meters in height is an inflorescence of plumelike spikelets
. These panicle
s 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.
C. jubata is listed on the National Pest Plant Accord
prohibiting it from sale, and commercial propagation and distribution.
coast, where it was presumably an introduced species
as an attractive ornamental plant
. 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 (ie: Redwood
and Coastal sage scrub
), harbors pest species such as rat
s, and produces large amounts of dry foliage which is a wildfire
hazard.
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
known by several common names, including Purple pampas grass and Andean pampas grass. It is similar to its more widespread relative, the Pampas Grass
Pampas Grass
Cortaderia selloana, commonly known as pampas grass, is a tall grass native to southern South America, including the pampas after which it is named, and Patagonia....
C. selloana, but it can get quite a bit taller, approaching seven meters in height at maximum.
This grass is native to the northern Andes
Andes
The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...
but it is well-known elsewhere as an invasive species
Invasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
noxious weed. This grass has only pistillate parts
Gynoecium
Gynoecium is most commonly used as a collective term for all carpels in a flower. A carpel is the ovule and seed producing reproductive organ in flowering plants. Carpels are derived from ovule-bearing leaves which evolved to form a closed structure containing the ovules...
, that is, all individuals are female. It reproduces by apomixis
Apomixis
In botany, apomixis was defined by Winkler as replacement of the normal sexual reproduction by asexual reproduction, without fertilization. This definition notably does not mention meiosis...
, in which embryos develop without fertilization.
Description
This pampas grass, Cortaderia jubata, has long, thin, razor-edged leaves forming a large bunch grass tussock from which the eye-catching inflorescenceInflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
s arise. At the top of a stem several meters in height is an inflorescence of plumelike spikelets
Raceme
A raceme is a type of inflorescence that is unbranched and indeterminate and bears pedicellate flowers — flowers having short floral stalks called pedicels — along the axis. In botany, axis means a shoot, in this case one bearing the flowers. In a raceme, the oldest flowers are borne...
. These panicle
Panicle
A panicle is a compound raceme, a loose, much-branched indeterminate inflorescence with pedicellate flowers attached along the secondary branches; in other words, a branched cluster of flowers in which the branches are racemes....
s 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.
New Zealand
In New ZealandNew Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
C. jubata is listed on the National Pest Plant Accord
National Pest Plant Accord
The National Pest Plant Accord identifies pest plants that are prohibited from sale and commercial propagation and distribution across New Zealand....
prohibiting it from sale, and commercial propagation and distribution.
United States
Cortaderia jubata grows well in the conditions provided by the cool, moist CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
coast, where it was presumably an introduced species
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
as an attractive ornamental plant
Ornamental plant
Ornamental plants are plants that are grown for decorative purposes in gardens and landscape design projects, as house plants, for cut flowers and specimen display...
. It is a common weed of Redwood National and State Parks
Redwood National and State Parks
The Redwood National and State Parks are located in the United States, along the coast of northern California. Comprising Redwood National Park and California's Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks , the combined RNSP contain...
, the Central Coast
Central Coast of California
The Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the area between the Monterey Bay and Point Conception. It extends through Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, Monterey County, San Luis Obispo County, and Santa Barbara County...
region, and Big Sur
Big Sur
Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big...
, 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 (ie: Redwood
Redwood
-Trees:Conifers* Family Cupressaceae *** Sequoia sempervirens - coast redwood**** Albino redwood*** Sequoiadendron giganteum - giant sequoia*** Metasequoia glyptostroboides - dawn redwood* Family Pinaceae...
and Coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub
Coastal sage scrub is a low scrubland plant community found in the California chaparral and woodlands ecoregion of coastal California and northern Baja California. It is characterized by low-growing aromatic, and drought-deciduous shrubs adapted to the semi-arid Mediterranean climate of the...
), harbors pest species such as rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s, and produces large amounts of dry foliage which is a wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
hazard.