Poaceae
Eragrostis

Eragrostis acraea De Winter

First published in Kirkia 1: 100 (1961)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is S. Tropical & S. Africa. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Morphology General Habit
Perennial; caespitose; clumped densely. Butt sheaths persistent and investing base of culm; with compacted dead sheaths. Culms robust; 100-200 cm long. Lateral branches lacking. Leaf-sheaths 20-40 cm long; glabrous on surface, or pilose. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades flat, or involute; 30-60 cm long; 3-13 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface ribbed; glabrous, or pilose; sparsely hairy.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; elliptic, or ovate; 15-70 cm long; 5-20 cm wide. Primary panicle branches ascending; whorled at lower nodes. Panicle branches scabrous. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels filiform.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 5-7 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets elliptic, or oblong; laterally compressed; 4-6 mm long; breaking up at maturity; rhachilla persistent; shedding paleas.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 5-7 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets elliptic, or oblong; laterally compressed; 4-6 mm long; breaking up at maturity; rhachilla persistent; shedding paleas.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes deciduous; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume ovate; 1-1.5 mm long; 0.66 length of upper glume; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume surface asperulous. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume ovate; 1.6-2.3 mm long; 0.75-0.85 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume surface asperulous. Upper glume apex acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile lemma ovate; 2.2-2.7 mm long; 1.5-2 mm wide; chartaceous; keeled; 3 -veined. Lemma lateral veins distinct. Lemma surface scaberulous. Lemma apex acute. Palea chartaceous. Palea keels scaberulous; eciliate. Palea surface scaberulous. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Lodicules 2; cuneate; fleshy. Anthers 3; 1.7 mm long; red, or purple.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; ellipsoid, or oblong; 1 mm long; dark brown. Embryo 0.4 length of caryopsis. Hilum punctiform.
Distribution
Africa: southern tropical and south.
Reference
Eragrostideae. Gr S Afr 1993.
[GB]

Gramineae, T. Cope. Flora Zambesiaca 10:2. 1999

Morphology General Habit
Densely caespitose perennial without rhizomes or stolons; culms stout, up to 200 cm tall, erect, usually unbranched, glabrous at the nodes, eglandular; basal leaf sheaths glabrous, firmly chartaceous, glossy yellow, terete, eglandular, persistent or decaying into parallel fibres; ligule a line of hairs; leaf laminas 15–40(60) cm × 6–12(15) mm, linear, rigid and pungent, flat (involute on drying), glabrous or sparsely pilose, eglandular.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Panicle 15–70 cm long, narrowly oblong-elliptic, rather dense and usually contracted, the spikelets evenly distributed on pedicels 2–6 mm long, the primary branches 1–several at a node but scarcely whorled, terminating in a fertile spikelet, glabrous in the axils, eglandular.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 3–7 × 2–2.5 mm, oblong to lanceolate-oblong, laterally compressed, 5–7(12)-flowered, the florets disarticulating from below upwards, the rhachilla persistent; glumes unequal, keeled, narrowly lanceolate in profile, densely scaberulous all over, acute at the apex, the inferior 1–1.5 mm long, reaching to c. 2/3 the way along the adjacent lemma, the superior 1.6–2(2.3) mm long, reaching to about the middle of the adjacent lemma; lemmas 2.3–2.8 mm long, keeled, narrowly elliptic to lanceolate-elliptic in profile, firmly membranous with somewhat indistinct lateral nerves, diverging from the rhachilla at 45°, those in opposite rows not imbricate, the rhachilla visible between them, greyish-green, densely scaberulous all over, subacute to acute at the apex; palea deciduous with or soon after the lemma, scaberulous on the flanks, the keels slender, wingless, scabrid; anthers 3, 1.3–1.5 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis 0.7–1 mm long, oblong-elliptic, dorsally grooved.
[FZ]

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

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • 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

    • 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 2026. 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 2026. 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