Poaceae
Digitaria

Digitaria incisa Van der Veken

First published in Bull. Jard. Bot. Natl. Belg. 45: 406 (1975)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is DR Congo. It is an annual and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Morphology General Habit
Annual; culms solitary, or caespitose. Culms erect, or geniculately ascending; 70-100 cm long. Culm-internodes terete; distally glabrous. Culm-nodes glabrous. Leaf-sheaths mostly shorter than adjacent culm internode; smooth; glabrous on surface. Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 0.5 mm long; truncate. Leaf-blades 7-15 cm long; 3-5 mm wide. Leaf-blade midrib prominent beneath. Leaf-blade surface smooth; glabrous. Leaf-blade margins cartilaginous; scaberulous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence composed of racemes. Racemes 2-4; paired, or digitate; unilateral; 10-15 cm long. Rhachis angular; glabrous on surface; scaberulous on margins. Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets pedicelled; 2 in the cluster. Pedicels angular; unequal; 0.2-2.5 mm long; scabrous; tip widened.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate, or oblong; dorsally compressed; 2.7-3.1 mm long; falling entire.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate, or oblong; dorsally compressed; 2.7-3.1 mm long; falling entire.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes two; dissimilar; reaching apex of florets; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume oblate; clasping; 0.5-1 mm long; 0.2-0.33 length of spikelet; hyaline; pallid; without keels; 0 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex dentate; 2 -fid. Upper glume lanceolate, or oblong; 2.7-3.1 mm long; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 5 -veined. Upper glume surface pubescent; hairy between veins; with verruculose hairs. Upper glume margins pubescent. Upper glume apex obtuse.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; 7 -veined; pubescent; hairy between veins; with hooked hairs; with basal tufts of hair; 2 hair tufts in all; pubescent on margins; bearing hairs 0.7-0.8 mm long; acute. Fertile lemma lanceolate to oblong; 2.5-3 mm long; cartilaginous; much thinner on margins; yellow, or light brown; without keel. Lemma margins flat; covering most of palea. Lemma apex acute. Palea cartilaginous.
Distribution
Africa: west-central tropical.
Reference
Paniceae. Van der Veken 2001.
[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: 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

  • 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