Maui Invasive Species Committee
pampas in rainforest
Pampas Gone Wild-Haipua‘ena Part 3
In the final installment of the “Pampas Gone Wild” series, we’ll cover some of the key identification features of pampas grass that differentiate it from the native sedge, Carex. These features can also be used to identify immature pampas in other habitats.
There's an immature pampas grass in this photo...any guesses?
Zoom in for a closer look.
A young pampas closely resembles a native sedge, Carex. First look for the flat leaf of pampas.
Compared that with the "corrugated" leaf of Carex.
Another key feature of pampas is the razor sharp serrated leaf edges, shown clearly in this photo. This feature is easy to find by running your finger carefully along the edge, even on very young seedlings.
This series was brought to you with the help of the above members of the MISC field crew, Summer 2011: Paul Gonzalez (SCA), Brooke Mahnken (GIS and Data Specialist), Chris Radford (Crew Leader), Matt Fairall (SCA), Frank Ritenour (SCA), and Abe Vandenberg (Field Crew and Outreach). Thanks for your good and muddy work out there!
If you think you have seen a pampas grass in Hawaii, please contact your local Invasive Species Committee. Many Mahalos!
Pampas Gone Wild-Haipua‘ena part 1
Pampas grass or Cortaderia jubata with it’s wind-dispersed seeds readily escapes cultivation. Tackling established populations far from civilization takes some work…check out the work in one of our remote field camps–Haipua‘ena.
Helicopters bring the gear and materials out for both the crew and for building a new platform out of the mud.
The crew prepares to start hiking in. Along the way they'll be searching for pampas.
The boardwalk running along the Waikamoi flume...the easy part.
A dead pampas grass...excellent!
A not-so-dead pampas grass...not excellent.
Very lively and seeding pampas grass...euuuwwh
Check back to see how we treat pampas grass in this kind of environment!
