Ehrharta longiflora Sm. and Pennisetum setaceum (Forsk.) Chiov., two new alien grasses for Madeira Island (Portugal)

• Autor(a) principal: Cabral, Laura
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Outros Autores: Ferreira, João Pedro, Brazão, André, Nascimento, Pedro, Sequeira, Miguel Menezes de
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.13/4170
• topic: Ehrharta longiflora; Grasses; Madeira (Portugal); Pennisetum setaceum; Alien; Gramíneas; Especies exóticas; .; Faculdade de Ciências da Vida

The number of introduced, and possible introduced, taxa in the Madeira and Selvagens islands currently accounts for nearly 36% of the total flora of these archipelagos, including 53 Poaceae taxa (out of 141 Poaceae taxa), therefore constituting the family with the higher proportion of introduced taxa (38.4%). The genus Ehrharta Thunb. comprises about 35 species, with one species, E. longiflora Sm., recorded as introduced in Gran Canaria. The genus Pennisetum Rich. includes ca. 80 species of which a total of nine species are present in Macaronesia, with three: P. clandestinum Hochst. & Chiov., P. purpureum Schum. and P. villosum R. Br. ex Fresen, occurring in the Madeira archipelago. Ehrharta longiflora Sm. and Pennisetum setaceum (Forssk.) Chiov., are here recorded for the first time for the Ma deira island, found in disturbed areas at low and medium altitudes. The finding of several mature and flowering/fructifying individuals of both species suggests a fully naturalized status. Naturalization, invasiveness and ecological impacts are discussed.