Digitaria ciliaris

HABIT Annual. Culms decumbent; 20–100 cm long. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blades 3–25 cm long; 3–10 mm wide.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.

Racemes 2–12; digitate; unilateral; 6–22 cm long. Central inflorescence axis 0–5 cm long. Rhachis narrowly winged; angular; glabrous on surface, or with scattered hairs; scabrous on margins. Spikelet packing contiguous; 0.3 their length apart.

Spikelets appressed; in pairs. Fertile spikelets pedicelled; 2 in the cluster; all alike, or heteromorphic (as to indumentum).

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic; dorsally compressed; acute; (2–)2.5–3.3(–3.7) mm long; falling entire.

GLUMES Glumes two; dissimilar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 0.2–0.4 mm long; 0.1 length of spikelet. Upper glume lanceolate; (0.5–)0.6–0.75 length of spikelet; membranous; 3 -veined. Upper glume surface pubescent; hairy between veins. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret elliptic; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; 7 -veined; with equidistant veins, or with unevenly spaced veins; puberulous, or pubescent, or setose, or villous; hairy between veins; eciliate on margins, or ciliate on margins; acute. Fertile lemma elliptic; 2–3.7 mm long; cartilaginous; much thinner on margins; grey, or dark brown; without keel; 3 -veined. Lemma margins flat; covering most of palea; ciliate. Lemma apex acute. Palea cartilaginous.

FLOWER Anthers 3.

DISTRIBUTION Europe: southeastern. Africa: north, Macaronesia, west tropical, west-central tropical, northeast tropical, east tropical, southern tropical, south, middle Atlantic ocean, and western Indian ocean. Asia-temperate: Soviet far east, Caucasus, western Asia, Arabia, China, and eastern Asia. Asia-tropical: India, Indo-China, Malesia, and Papuasia. Australasia: Australia and New Zealand. Pacific: southwestern, south-central, northwestern, and north-central. North America: Mexico. South America: Mesoamericana, Caribbean, northern South America, western South America, Brazil, and southern South America.

NOTES Paniceae. FTEA.

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