Poaceae
Digitaria

Digitaria breviglumis (Domin) Henrard

First published in Monogr. Digitaria: 92 (1950)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is N. & E. Australia. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

Morphology General Habit
Perennial; caespitose; clumped loosely. Butt sheaths glabrous, or sparsely hairy. Culms erect; 20-70 cm long; 1-1.5 mm diam.; 2-3 -noded. Culm-nodes glabrous. Leaf-sheaths keeled; striately veined; pilose. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 2-4 mm long; erose; truncate, or obtuse. Leaf-blades 3-15 cm long; 1-3 mm wide. Leaf-blade midrib prominent beneath. Leaf-blade surface scabrous; glabrous, or pilose. Leaf-blade margins scabrous. Leaf-blade apex attenuate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence composed of racemes. Racemes 2-10; borne along a central axis; flexuous; unilateral; 2-10 cm long. Central inflorescence axis 1-8 cm long. Rhachis angular. Spikelet packing lax; irregular. Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets pedicelled; 2 in the cluster. Pedicels tip cupuliform.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets oblong, or ovate; dorsally compressed; 1.25-1.5 mm long; falling entire.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets oblong, or ovate; dorsally compressed; 1.25-1.5 mm long; falling entire.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume orbicular; 0.15-0.2 length of spikelet; membranous. Lower glume apex obtuse. Upper glume elliptic; 0.25-0.33 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins obscure. Upper glume surface glabrous. Upper glume apex obtuse.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret elliptic; 0.9-1 length of spikelet; membranous; 3-7 -veined; glabrous; obtuse. Fertile lemma elliptic, or ovate; 1.25-1.5 mm long; cartilaginous; much thinner on margins; dark brown; without keel. Lemma margins flat; covering most of palea. Lemma apex acute, or apiculate. Palea cartilaginous.
Distribution
Australasia: Australia.
Reference
Paniceae. Fl NSW 1993.
[GB]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora

    • Clayton, W.D., Vorontsova, M.S., Harman, K.T. and Williamson, H. (2006 onwards). GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2025. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0