Digitaria appropinquata

HABIT Annual; culms solitary, or caespitose. Culms erect; slender; 15–20 cm long. Culm-nodes brown; glabrous. Leaf-sheaths smooth, or scaberulous; hirsute; with tubercle-based hairs. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 1.5–3 mm long; truncate. Leaf-blades 3–6 cm long; 1–2 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface smooth, or scaberulous; rough abaxially; pilose; sparsely hairy; with tubercle-based hairs. Leaf-blade margins scaberulous.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.

Racemes 2–4; paired, or borne along a central axis; erect; unilateral; 1–4 cm long. Rhachis wingless; angular; 0.2 mm wide; scaberulous on margins.

Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets pedicelled; 2 in the cluster. Pedicels angular, or flattened; unequal; 1–3 mm long; scaberulous; tip rectangular.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; dorsally compressed; 1.7–2 mm long; falling entire.

GLUMES Glumes two; dissimilar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 0.1 length of spikelet; hyaline; mid-green, or purple; without keels; 0 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex obtuse. Upper glume oblong; 0.66 length of spikelet; membranous; mid-green, or purple; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume surface glabrous. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret lanceolate; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; 5(–7) -veined; with unevenly spaced veins; glabrous; acute. Fertile lemma lanceolate; 1.7–2 mm long; cartilaginous; much thinner on margins; purple; without keel. Lemma margins flat; covering most of palea. Lemma apex apiculate. Palea cartilaginous.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: southern tropical.

NOTES Paniceae. FZ.

Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.