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GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora
Descriptions
W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson
© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Digitaria eriantha
HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Cataphylls evident. Stolons absent, or present. Butt sheaths sparsely hairy; persistent and investing base of culm; with compacted dead sheaths. Culms erect, or geniculately ascending; 40–120 cm long. Culm-internodes distally glabrous. Culm-nodes brown; glabrous. Leaf-sheaths scaberulous; glabrous on surface, or pilose. Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 2–4 mm long. Leaf-blades flat, or involute; 5–20 cm long; 2–4(–7) mm wide. Leaf-blade surface scaberulous; rough on both sides. Leaf-blade margins scabrous.
INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.
Racemes 3–10; digitate; in several whorls; erect; unilateral; 5–20 cm long. Rhachis narrowly winged; angular; 0.5 mm wide; smooth on surface, or scabrous on surface; scabrous on margins.
Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets pedicelled; 2 in the cluster. Pedicels terete, or angular; unequal; 0.5–2.5 mm long; tip widened.
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets oblong; dorsally compressed; 2.2–3.5 mm long; falling entire.
GLUMES Glumes two; dissimilar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 0.2–0.5 mm long; 0.1 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 0 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume margins ciliate. Lower glume apex acute, or acuminate. Upper glume oblong; 0.5–0.66 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume surface pubescent. Upper glume apex acute.
FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; 7 -veined; smooth; pubescent, or pubescent and setose; acute. Fertile lemma oblong; 2–3 mm long; cartilaginous; much thinner on margins; yellow, or light brown; without keel. Lemma margins flat; covering most of palea. Lemma apex acute. Palea cartilaginous.
DISTRIBUTION Africa: southern tropical and south. Asia-tropical: Malesia. Australasia: Australia. Pacific: southwestern, northwestern, and north-central. North America: Mexico. South America: Mesoamericana, northern South America, western South America, Brazil, and southern South America.
NOTES Paniceae. FZ.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
