Aristida adscensionis (BIS-Fogo)

Aristida adscensionis

Summary ⁷

Aristida adscensionis is a species of grass known by the common name Sixweeks threeawn. It is native to the Americas but it is distributed nearly worldwide. It grows easily in disturbed and waste areas and has potential to become a weed.

Comments ⁸

Aristida adscensionis is a pan-tropical weed and morphologically extremely variable. There are no discontinuities between var. adscensionis and either var. pumila or var. ehrenbergii and the distinctions between them are hardly worth maintaining. The same may be said of Aristida depressa, an extreme form completely intergrading with Aristida adscensionis. The distinction between annuals and perennials in the tropics and subtropics is not always very clear and often appears to be a facultative difference of little taxonomic consequence. This is particularly true in Aristida adscensionis where the separation of perennial plants as Aristida caerulescens cannot be justified. Indeed, perennial plants, otherwise indistinguishable from typical var. ehrenbergii are seen in the Middle East.

Six-weeks Tripleawn (a North American name) is probably grazed by cattle, but nothing more definite about its economic value in Pakistan seems to be known.