Digitaria milanjiana (Rendle) Stapf

Gramineae, W. D. Clayton, S. M. Phillips & S. A. Renvoize. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1974

Morphology General Habit

Loosely tufted rhizomatous perennial; basal sheaths glabrous or pubescent, rarely tomentose or bulbously swollen; culms 50–250 cm. high, erect or geniculately ascending, sometimes rooting at the lower nodes and occasionally forming stolons; nodes glabrous (with rare exceptions, see notes).

Morphology Leaves

Leaf-blades 15–30 cm. long, 3–13 mm. wide.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence of 2–18 digitate or subdigitate (axis up to 6 cm.) racemes; racemes 5–25 cm. long, slender, stiff, brownish or purplish, the spikelets paired on a triquetrous winged rhachis, this occasionally bearing a few long stiff hairs.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets

Spikelets lanceolate, (1.7–)2.5–3(–3.5) mm. long; lower glume distinct, ovate or triangular, 0.2–0.5 mm. long; upper glume 1/3–2/3 as long as the spikelet, 3-nerved, ciliate on the margins; lower lemma as long as the spikelet, 7-nerved (evenly spaced or with the central interspaces up to 1/2 the width of the spikelet), pubescent to glabrescent with shortly ciliate margins, ± scabrid on the nerves and often pectinate with stiff spreading or appressed yellowish or brown glassy bristles; fruit ellipsoid, grey to greyish or pallid brown, as long as or shorter than the lower lemma.

Habitat

A ubiquitous species recorded from a wide range of habitats (coastal soils, black clay, fire-swept hillsides, old cultivation, etc.), mostly subject to some degree of disturbance; 0–2000 m.

Distribution

K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 P T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6 Ethiopia, Somalia, Zaire (Shaba), Zambia and southward to South Africaintroduced as a fodder grass to other tropical countries

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit

Loosely tufted rhizomatous perennial up to 250 cm high; basal sheaths glabrous or pubescent, rarely bulbously swollen; nodes usually glabrous; leaves linear

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence of 2–18 digitate or subdigitate racemes (axis up to 6 cm long); racemes 5–25 cm long, slender, stiff, the spikelets in pairs on a triquetrous winged rhachis

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets

Spikelets lanceolate, (1.7–)2.5–3(–3.5) mm long; lower glume distinct, ovate or triangular, 0.2–0.5 mm long; upper glume 1/3–2/3 the length of the spikelet, 3-nerved, ciliate on the margins; lower lemma 7-nerved (the nerves evenly spaced or with the central interspaces up to 1/2 the width of the spikelet), pubescent to glabrescent with shortly ciliate margins, ± scabrid on the nerves and often pectinate with stiff spreading or appressed yellowish or brown glassy bristles; fruit ellipsoid, grey to greyish or pallid brown.

Distribution

S3 tropical and South Africa, introduced elsewhere in the tropics.

Ecology

Altitude range 0–50 m.

Morphology General Habit

Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes elongated. Stolons absent, or present. Butt sheaths herbaceous; not bulbous, or thickened and forming a bulb (rarely); glabrous, or pubescent. Culms erect, or geniculately ascending, or decumbent; 20-250 cm long; without nodal roots, or rooting from lower nodes. Culm-nodes glabrous. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blades 15-30 cm long; 3-13 mm wide.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence composed of racemes. Racemes 2-18; digitate; straight; unilateral; 5-25 cm long. Central inflorescence axis 0-6 cm long. Rhachis narrowly winged; angular; glabrous on surface, or with scattered hairs. Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets pedicelled; 2 in the cluster. Pedicels unequal.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets

Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; dorsally compressed; (1.7-)2.5-3(-3.5) mm long; falling entire.

Fertile

Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; dorsally compressed; (1.7-)2.5-3(-3.5) mm long; falling entire.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume

Glumes two; dissimilar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 0.2-0.5 mm long; 0.1 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex obtuse. Upper glume lanceolate; 0.33-0.66 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume surface glabrous, or pubescent. Upper glume margins ciliate. Upper glume hairs dark brown, or purple. Upper glume apex acute.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets

Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret lanceolate; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; 7 -veined; scabrous; rough on veins; glabrous, or pubescent, or setose (sometimes); ciliate on margins; bearing yellow hairs, or dark brown hairs, or purple hairs; acute. Fertile lemma elliptic; 1.7-3.5 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: west-central tropical, northeast tropical, east tropical, southern tropical, and south. Asia-tropical: Malesia and Papuasia. Australasia: Australia.

Reference

Paniceae. FTEA.

Gramineae, W. D. Clayton. Flora Zambesiaca 10:3. 1989

Morphology General Habit

A rhizomatous perennial, occasionally forming stolons, rhizomes extensively branched, covered by hairy cataphylls; base covered by glabrous or pubescent leaf sheaths, rarely villous or slightly swollen.

Morphology Culms

Culms 50–200 cm., ascending to erect, glabrous, nodes dark and glabrous.

Morphology Leaves Leaf sheaths

Leaf sheaths glabrous to hairy.

Morphology Leaves Ligules

Ligule up to 2 mm. long, truncate.

Morphology Leaves Leaf lamina

Leaf lamina 8–30 × 0.3–1.2 cm., linear, glabrous to loosely hairy.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence composed of 2–18 digitate or subdigitate racemes, 5–20 cm. long, erect to patent.

Morphology Leaves Rachis

Rhachis triquetrous, winged, up to 0.7 mm. wide, smooth to scabrous with scabrous margins.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel

Pedicels 2-nate, 0.5–2 mm. long, subterete to triangular, scabrous, somewhat widened at the apex.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets

Spikelets (2.1)2.5–3.2(3.5) mm. long, lanceolate.

Inferior

Inferior glume short, triangular or truncate. Inferior lemma as long as the spikelet, oblong, 7-nerved, nerves scabrous or nearly smooth, appressed hairy, with or without bristle hairs.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume

Superior glume 1/2–2/3 of the spikelet, oblong-triangular, 3-nerved, appressed hairy, hairs fine, whitish. Inferior glume short, triangular or truncate.

Superior

Superior glume 1/2–2/3 of the spikelet, oblong-triangular, 3-nerved, appressed hairy, hairs fine, whitish. Superior lemma nearly as long as the spikelet, oblong, acute, pale brown, greyish or purplish tinged.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Lemma

Superior lemma nearly as long as the spikelet, oblong, acute, pale brown, greyish or purplish tinged. Inferior lemma as long as the spikelet, oblong, 7-nerved, nerves scabrous or nearly smooth, appressed hairy, with or without bristle hairs.