Digitaria nodosa

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes absent. Butt sheaths herbaceous; not bulbous, or thickened and forming a bulb; pubescent. Culms 15–100 cm long. Culm-nodes glabrous. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blades 3–30 cm long; 2–5 mm wide.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.

Racemes 4–12(–25); digitate, or borne along a central axis; unilateral; 3–15 cm long; simple, or secondarily branched. Central inflorescence axis 0–10 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; 2–3 mm long; falling entire.

GLUMES Glumes two; dissimilar; reaching apex of florets, or shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 0.1–0.4 mm long; 0.05–0.1 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex obtuse. Upper glume elliptic; 0.66–1 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume surface pubescent, or villous. 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; pilose, or villous; bearing white hairs; acute. Fertile lemma elliptic; 2–3 mm long; cartilaginous; much thinner on margins; grey, or light brown; without keel. Lemma margins flat; covering most of palea. Lemma apex acute. Palea cartilaginous.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: north, Macaronesia, northeast tropical, and east tropical. Asia-temperate: western Asia and Arabia. Asia-tropical: India.

NOTES Paniceae. FTEA.

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