| Home | > | List of families | > | Poaceae | > | Aristida | > | leucophaea |
| Synonyms: |
Aristida eriophora Henrard |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
Perennial, 30-80 cm. high, caespitose. Culms erect, simple, or slightly branched from some of the upper nodes, densely greyish- or whitish-woolly, sometimes in the upper part less woolly or pubescent only, 5 — many-noded; nodes usually glabrous. Leaf-sheaths tight or lax, somewhat keeled, glabrous or minutely pubescent or more or less pilose. Ligule a ciliolate rim; auricles pubescent or barbate; collar glabrous or pubescent. Leaf-laminae up to 20 cm. long, with prominent or raised marginal nerves, scabrous and more or less pilose above, scaberulous or glabrous, smooth beneath, laminae of the lower leaves c. 3 mm. wide, flat, curled when old, those of the upper scarcely 1 mm. wide when expanded, convolute, setaceously acuminate. Panicle 5-15 cm. long, long-exserted, contracted and more or less interrupted, with scaberulous or minutely pubescent or more or less pilose axis and branches; branches single or 2-nate, angular, appressed, much branched, the lowermost 5-6 cm. long, naked at the base, with a shorter few-flowered branchlet at the base. Spikelets yellowish-green or brownish, sometimes tinged with purple. Glumes equal or slightly unequal, linear-lanceolate, usually scabridulous, sometimes slightly pilose, keeled, 1-nerved; the inferior 3.5-8 mm. long, scabrous on the keel, gradually tapering into an awn up to 3 mm. long, the superior 5-8 mm. long, sometimes nearly glabrous on the back, usually glabrous on the keel, 2-fid at the apex, with an awn c. 1 mm. long from the sinus. Lemma 5-6 mm. long, glabrous, smooth at the base, densely scaberulous towards the apex; callus c. 0.5 mm. long, obtuse, densely short-barbate; column up to 2·5 mm. long, slightly twisted, scabrous; awns unequal, suberect or slightly spreading; the central 1·1-1·6 mm. long, the lateral ones 9-11 mm. long; articulation absent. |
| Notes: | |
| Derivation of specific name: | |
| Habitat: | On sandy soils or schists in grassland, on grassy hills, in open woodland and on edges of vleis |
| Altitude range: (metres) | |
| Flowering time: | |
| Worldwide distribution: | Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, not known elsewhere |
| Zimbabwe distribution: | N,W,C,E,S |
| Growth form(s): | |
| Endemic status: | |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects associated with this species: | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Chapano, C. & Mugarisanwa, N.H. (2003). Plants of the Matobo District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 4. Launert, E. (1971). Poaceae Flora Zambesiaca 10(1) Pages 101 - 102. Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 100. Wursten, B., Timberlake, J. & Darbyshire, I. (2017). The Chimanimani Mountains: an updated checklist. Kirkia 19(1) Page 85. |
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