Taxon: Echinochloa polystachya (Kunth) Hitchc.

Summary

Genus:

Echinochloa

Family:

Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)

Subfamily:

Panicoideae

Tribe:

Paniceae

Subtribe:

Boivinellinae

Nomen number:

14833

Place of publication:

Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 22:135. 1920

Protologue link:

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/381387

Verified:

03/01/2004 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

1 (0 active, 0 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Echinochloa polystachya (Kunth) Hitchc. var. polystachya (0 active accession[s])
Echinochloa polystachya (Kunth) Hitchc. var. spectabilis (Nees ex Trin.) Mart. Crov. (0 active accession[s])

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
Catasús Guerra, L. J. 2002. Las gramíneas (Poaceae) de Cuba, II. Cavanillesia Altera 3:1-163.
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas.
Hammel, B. E. et al., eds. 2003-. Manual de plantas de Costa Rica
Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Hitchcock, A. S. 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States, ed. 2.
Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
Kartesz, J. T. 1994. A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland.
León, B. 1993. Catálogo anotado de las fanerógamas acuáticas del Perú. In: Kahn, F. et al., Las plantas vasculares en las aguas continentales del Peru
Porcher, M. H. et al. Searchable World Wide Web Multilingual Multiscript Plant Name Database (MMPND) (on-line resource).
Steyermark, J. A. et al., eds. 1995-. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Note: Missouri Botanical Garden & Timber Press
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 1994. Catálogo de la familia Poaceae en la República Argentina. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 47
Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:222.

Common names

Language	Name	seq	Citation
English	Aleman grass	1	Integrated Botanical Information System (IBIS). Australian plant common name database (on-line resource).
English	creeping river grass	1	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Spanish	paja pelua	2	Steyermark, J. A. et al., eds. 1995-. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Note: Missouri Botanical Garden & Timber Press
Spanish	pasto chiguirera	2	Steyermark, J. A. et al., eds. 1995-. Flora of the Venezuelan Guayana. Note: Missouri Botanical Garden & Timber Press

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Chihuahua		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Durango		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	San Luis Potosí		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sinaloa		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Zacatecas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas	e. coastal	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Louisiana		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Aguascalientes		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Campeche		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Ciudad de México		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guanajuato		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Puebla		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tlaxcala		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Yucatán		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:222.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Antigua and Barbuda			Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Cuba			Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Dominican Republic			Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Haiti			Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Jamaica			Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Martinique			Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	St. Lucia			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:222.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Trinidad and Tobago			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:222.
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico		Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Belize			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Honduras			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Panama			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	French Guiana			Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana			Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Suriname			Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:222.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Chile			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:222.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Paraguay			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:222.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Uruguay			Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Bolivia			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:222.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador			Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:222.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Peru			Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
4	Naturalized	Africa		Africa			Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Australasia	Australia	Australia		n.	Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
4	Naturalized	Pacific	North-Central Pacific	United States	Hawaii		Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6

Native
Northern America

SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Florida, Louisiana]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas (e. coastal)]
NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chihuahua, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Aguascalientes, Campeche, Chiapas, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tabasco, Tlaxcala, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán, Ciudad de México]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Lucia, Martinique, Trinidad and Tobago, United States [Puerto Rico]
CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
BRAZIL: Brazil
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay

Naturalized
Africa

REGION: Africa

Australasia

AUSTRALIA: Australia (n.)

Pacific

NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: United States [Hawaii]

Reference(s)

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong. Flora of the West Indies (on-line resource).
Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica
Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 2010. Ecocrop (on-line resource).
Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas.
Hanelt, P., ed. 2001. Mansfeld's encyclopedia of agricultural and horticultural crops. Volumes 1-6
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:222.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Reference
Animal food	forage	Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
Animal food	forage	Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds
Weed		Weber, E. 2003. Invasive plant species of the world: a reference guide to environmental weeds

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=14833. Accessed 17 April 2026.