| Home | > | List of families | > | Poaceae | > | Eragrostis | > | macilenta |
| Synonyms: |
Eragrostis decidua Hochst. Eragrostis dekindtii Pilg. Eragrostis passa Rendle Eragrostis pseudonigra Mattei Poa macilenta A. Rich. |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | |
| Description: |
Caespitose annual; culms up to 60 cm tall, erect or ascending, branched or unbranched, glabrous at the nodes, eglandular or rarely with glandular patches below the nodes, these sometimes coalescent into a ring; leaf sheaths glabrous or thinly pilose; ligule a line of hairs; leaf laminas 2–20 cm × 2–5 mm, linear, flat, glabrous, eglandular.Panicle 3–35 cm long, ovate-elliptic, untidily diffuse, the spikelets evenly distributed on slender pedicels 2–12 mm long, the primary branches solitary, paired or the lowermost whorled, terminating in a fertile spikelet, glabrous in the axils, eglandular.Spikelets 3–6 × 1–2 mm, oblong, laterally compressed, 5–14-flowered, the lemmas disarticulating from below upwards, the rhachilla persistent; glumes subequal, 1.1–1.5 mm long, reaching ± to the middle of the adjacent lemmas, keeled, lanceolate in profile, smooth or scaberulous, acuminate at the apex; lemmas 1.3–1.6 mm long, keeled, narrowly ovate in profile, membranous with obscure lateral nerves, diverging from the rhachilla at 45°, those in opposite rows not imbricate, the rhachilla visible between them, light green to almost black, smooth or scaberulous, acute at the apex; palea persistent, glabrous on the flanks, the keels slender, wingless, scaberulous; anthers 3, 0.3–0.5 mm long.Caryopsis c. 0.5 mm long, broadly oblong. |
| Notes: | |
| Derivation of specific name: | macilenta: thin, lean |
| Habitat: | Ruderal |
| Altitude range: (metres) | 1500 - 1800 m |
| Flowering time: | |
| Worldwide distribution: | Arabia, India, tropical Africa |
| Zimbabwe distribution: | N |
| Growth form(s): | |
| Endemic status: | |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects associated with this species: | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Cope, T.A. (1999). Poaceae Flora Zambesiaca 10(2) Page 130. 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 104. Poilecot, P. (2007). Eragrostis species of Zimbabwe Éditions Quae,Versailles, France Pages 170 - 171. (Includes a picture). |
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