Digitaria aridicola

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Stolons absent, or present. Butt sheaths thickened and forming a bulb; pubescent, or woolly. Culms decumbent; 30–100 cm long; wiry. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blades linear, or lanceolate; 3–12 cm long; 2–4 mm wide.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes; deciduous as a whole.

Racemes 12–35; borne along a central axis; the lowest whorled; radiating; straight; unilateral; 10–25 cm long. Central inflorescence axis 6–18 cm long. Rhachis wingless; angular. Spikelet packing distant. Raceme-bases filiform; 50–150 mm long; glabrous.

Spikelets appressed; in pairs. Fertile spikelets pedicelled; 2 in the cluster. Pedicels unequal.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets oblong; dorsally compressed; 1.1–1.3 mm long; falling entire.

GLUMES Glumes both absent or obscure.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong, or ovate; 0.2–1 length of spikelet; membranous; 5 -veined; ribbed; with unevenly spaced veins; glabrous; acute. Fertile lemma elliptic; 1.1–1.3 mm long; cartilaginous; much thinner on margins; light brown, or dark brown; without keel. Lemma margins flat; covering most of palea. Lemma apex acute. Palea cartilaginous.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: east tropical.

NOTES Paniceae. FTEA.

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