Digitaria gazensis

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; knotty. Butt sheaths pubescent, or villous, or woolly. Culms erect; 30–200 cm long. Culm-nodes bearded. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blades 3–30 cm long; 2–10 mm wide.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.

Racemes 6–20; borne along a central axis; unilateral; 5–20 cm long; simple, or secondarily branched. Central inflorescence axis 2–14 cm long. Rhachis wingless; angular.

Spikelets 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 elliptic; dorsally compressed; 1.5–2.5 mm long; falling entire.

GLUMES Glumes two; dissimilar; reaching apex of florets; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume oblate; 0.1 length of spikelet; hyaline; without keels; 0 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex truncate, or obtuse. Upper glume elliptic; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 3(–5) -veined. Upper glume surface pubescent. 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; pubescent; with hooked hairs (curled tips); bearing white hairs, or dark brown hairs, or purple hairs; acute. Fertile lemma elliptic; 1.5–2.5 mm long; cartilaginous; much thinner on margins; grey; without keel. Lemma margins flat; covering most of palea. Lemma apex acute. Palea cartilaginous.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: west-central tropical, northeast tropical, east tropical, southern tropical, south, and western Indian ocean.

NOTES Paniceae. FTEA.

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