Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.

grama, zacata bermuda, pasto diente de perro, pata de perdiz, Bermuda grass, cocksfoot grass, devil grass

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Plantae

Phylum
Magnoliophyta

Class
Liliopsida (= Monocotyledoneae)

Order
Cyperales

Family
Poaceae

Genus
Cynodon

Species
dactylon

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 1964

Mode of introduction: Intentional

Introduction Pathway: Intentional

Subpathway: Agriculture/Horticulture

Introduced status: Naturalized

Invasive status: Potentially Invasive

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

References

  • Adsersen, H. (s.a.) Personal observations Charles Darwin Research Station, unpublished Manuscript.
  • Blake, S. Wikelski, M., Cabrera, F., Guézou, A., Silva, M., Sadeghayobi, E., Yackulik, C. & Jaramillo, P. (2011) Gardeners of Galapagos? Seed dispersal by giant tortoises. Journal of Biogeography (submission): 1-41.
  • CONABIO (2009) Catálogo taxonómico de especies de México. Cap. nat. México 1.
  • D'Arcy, W.G. (1987) Flora of Panama. Checklist and Index. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 17(1): i–xxx, 1–328; 18(2): i–ix, 1–672.
  • Espejo Serna, A. López-Ferrari, A.R. & Valdés-Reyna, J. (2000) Poaceae. Monocot. Mexic. Sinopsis Floríst. 10: 7–236 [and index].
  • Guézou, A. Trueman, M., Buddenhagen, E., Chamorro, S., Guerrero, A.M., Pozo, P., Atkinson, R. (2010) An extensive Alien Plan Inventory from the Inhabited Areas of Galapagos Plos One/ www.plosone.org. Volume 5/ Issue 4/e10276
  • Itow, S. (1997) List of Plant Specimens collected in the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Bulletin of the Faculty of Liberal Arts, Nagasaki University, Natural Science, 38 (1): 53-144.
  • Jørgensen, P.M. León-Yánez, S. (eds.) (1999) Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Ecuador. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 75. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis, 1181 pp.
  • Laegaard, S. Peterson, P.M. (2001) 214(2). Gramineae (part 2) Subfam. Chloridoideae. Fl. Ecuador 68: 1–131.
  • Lawesson, J.E. (1987) Plantas exóticas en las Islas Galápagos, un resumen. Memorias. Taller sobre investigación Botánica y manejo en Galápagos. Pg. 17-23.
  • Peterson, P.M. (2001) Cynodon. In Catalogue of New World Grasses (Poaceae): II. Subfamily Chloridoideae. Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 41: 59-63.
  • Porter, D.M. (1983) Vascular Plants of the Galapagos: Origins and Dispersal. In: Bowman, R.I., Berson, M. & Leviton, A.E. (eds.): Patterns of evolution in Galápagos organisms. Pacific Division, AAAS, San Francisco, California, p. 33-96.
  • Quintana, M.C. (2010) Wild plants in the dry valleys around Quito-Ecuador. Publicaciones del Herbario QCA, PUCE. Quito-Ecuador, 266 pp.
  • Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Missouri Botanical Garden (eds.) (2013) The Plant List, Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed 1st January).
  • Tropicos.org. (2017) Database of Missouri Botanical Garden. Tropicos.org. Missouri Botanical Garden. 06 Oct 2017 <http://www.tropicos.org
  • Wiggins, I.L. Porter, D.M. (1971) Flora of the Galapagos Islands Standford University Press, Stanford.

You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.

This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Cynodon dactylon", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=932. Accessed 2 November 2026.