Summary
Place of publication:
Kew Bull. 35:817. 1981
Verified:
01/13/1992
ARS Systematic Botanists.
Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations
Reference(s)
- Boonman, J. G. 1993. East Africa's grasses and fodders: their ecology and husbandry. 136.
- Brummitt, R. K. 1985. Report of the Committee for Spermatophyta: 29. Taxon 34:659-660.
- CIBA-GEIGY, Basel, Switzerland. Documenta CIBA-GEIGY (Grass weeds 1. 1980, 2. 1981; Monocot weeds 3. 1982; Dicot weeds 1. 1988)
- Dassanayake, M. D. & F. R. Fosberg, eds. A revised handbook to the flora of Ceylon. 1980-
- FNA Editorial Committee. Flora of North America. 1993-
- Gibbs-Russell, G. E. et al. Grasses of southern Africa. Mem. Bot. Surv. S. Africa vol. 58. 1990
- Giraldo-Cañas, D. 2011. Catálogo de la familia Poaceae en Colombia. Darwiniana 49:139-247.
- Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long. Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim. 1984-
- Holm, L. et al. A geographical atlas of world weeds. 1979
- Holm, L. G. et al. The world's worst weeds: distribution and biology. 1977
- Instituto de Botánica Darwinion. Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares. 2008
- Rehm, S. Multilingual dictionary of agronomic plants. 1994
- Seed Regulatory and Testing Division, Agricultural Marketing Service, U.S.D.A. State noxious-weed seed requirements recognized in the administration of the Federal Seed Act (updated annually).
- Shukla, U. Grasses of north-eastern India. 1996
- Simon, B. K. 1982. (667) Proposal to conserve the species name Rottboellia exaltata L. f. (Poaceae). Taxon 31:564-565.
- Thulin, M., ed. Flora of Somalia. 1993-
- Tovar, Ó. 1993. Las gramíneas (Poaceae) del Perú. Ruizia 13:456.
- Villaseñor, J. L. & F. J. Espinoza-Garcia. 2004. The alien flowering plants of Mexico. Diversity & Distrib. 10:113-123.
- Wu Zheng-yi & P. H. Raven et al., eds. Flora of China (English edition). 1994-
- Zuloaga, F. O. et al. 2003. Catalogue of New World grasses (Poaceae): III. Subfamilies Panicoideae, Aristidoideae, Arundinoideae, and Danthonioideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 46:546.
- Plants of southern Africa: an online checklist.
Common names
English
guinea-fowl grass – itch grass – Kelly grass – kokoma grass – Raoul grass –
Distribution
| order_code | Status | Continent | Subcontinent | Country | State | Note |
| 1 | Native | Africa | East Tropical Africa | Kenya | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | East Tropical Africa | Tanzania | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | East Tropical Africa | Uganda | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | Northeast Tropical Africa | Ethiopia | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | Northeast Tropical Africa | Somalia | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | Northeast Tropical Africa | Sudan | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | Southern Africa | Botswana | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | Southern Africa | Eswatini | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | Southern Africa | Namibia | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | Southern Africa | South Africa | KwaZulu-Natal | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | Southern Africa | South Africa | Transvaal | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Benin | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Burkina Faso | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Côte D'Ivoire | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Gambia | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Ghana | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Guinea | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Liberia | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Nigeria | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | West Tropical Africa | Sierra Leone | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | West-Central Tropical Africa | Cameroon | | |
| 1 | Native | Africa | West-Central Tropical Africa | Equatorial Guinea | | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Fujian | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Guangdong | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Guangxi | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Guizhou | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Hainan | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Sichuan | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Yunnan | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | China | China | Zhejiang | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | Eastern Asia | Japan | Ryukyu Islands | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Temperate | Eastern Asia | Taiwan | | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Tropical | Indian Subcontinent | India | | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Tropical | Indian Subcontinent | Nepal | | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Tropical | Indian Subcontinent | Sri Lanka | | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Tropical | Indo-China | Indochina | | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Tropical | Indo-China | Myanmar | | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Tropical | Indo-China | Thailand | | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Tropical | Malesia | Indonesia | | |
| 1 | Native | Asia-Tropical | Malesia | Malaysia | | |
| 1 | Native | Australasia | Australia | Australia | New South Wales | |
| 1 | Native | Australasia | Australia | Australia | Northern Territory | |
| 1 | Native | Australasia | Australia | Australia | Queensland | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | | Mexico | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Illinois | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Missouri | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | North-Central U.S.A. | United States | Oklahoma | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | South-Central U.S.A. | United States | Texas | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Alabama | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Arkansas | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Florida | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Georgia | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Louisiana | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | Mississippi | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | Southeastern U.S.A. | United States | North Carolina | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | Southwestern U.S.A. | United States | California | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Northern America | Southwestern U.S.A. | United States | Utah | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Brazil | Brazil | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Caribbean | West Indies | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Mesoamerica | Belize | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Mesoamerica | Costa Rica | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Mesoamerica | Guatemala | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Mesoamerica | Honduras | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Mesoamerica | Nicaragua | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Mesoamerica | Panama | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Northern South America | French Guiana | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Northern South America | Suriname | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Southern South America | Argentina | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Western South America | Bolivia | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Western South America | Colombia | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Western South America | Ecuador | | |
| 4 | Naturalized | Southern America | Western South America | Peru | | |
Native
Africa
-
EAST TROPICAL AFRICA:
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
-
NORTHEAST TROPICAL AFRICA:
Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia
-
SOUTHERN AFRICA:
Botswana, Namibia, Eswatini, South Africa [KwaZulu-Natal, Transvaal]
-
WEST TROPICAL AFRICA:
Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte D'Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Gambia, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone
-
WEST-CENTRAL TROPICAL AFRICA:
Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea
Asia-Temperate
-
CHINA:
China [Fujian, Guangdong, Guangxi, Guizhou, Hainan, Sichuan, Yunnan, Zhejiang]
-
EASTERN ASIA:
Japan [Ryukyu Islands], Taiwan
Asia-Tropical
-
INDIAN SUBCONTINENT:
India, Sri Lanka, Nepal
-
INDO-CHINA:
Indochina, Myanmar, Thailand
-
MALESIA:
Indonesia, Malaysia
Australasia
-
AUSTRALIA:
Australia [New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory]
Naturalized
Northern America
-
REGION:
Mexico
-
NORTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.:
United States [Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma]
-
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.:
United States [Texas]
-
SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.:
United States [Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina]
-
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.:
United States [California, Utah]
Southern America
-
BRAZIL:
Brazil
-
CARIBBEAN:
West Indies
-
MESOAMERICA:
Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
-
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA:
French Guiana, Suriname
-
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA:
Argentina
-
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA:
Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
Economic Uses
| Usage | Type | Note | Reference |
| Weed | potential seed contaminant | | Holm, L. et al. A geographical atlas of world weeds. 1979 |
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://ausgenebank.agriculture.vic.gov.au/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=310370.
Accessed 31 May 2026.