Poaceae
Eragrostis

Eragrostis aurorae Launert

First published in Bol. Soc. Brot., sér. 2, 35: 15 (1961)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is S. Tropical Africa. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Morphology General Habit
Perennial; caespitose. Butt sheaths persistent and investing base of culm; with fibrous dead sheaths. Culms 35-70 cm long; 1-3 -noded. Lateral branches lacking. Leaf-sheaths pilose. Leaf-sheath oral hairs bearded. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades flexuous; filiform; involute; 5-12 cm long; 0.2-1 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface scaberulous; rough adaxially; glabrous, or pilose; sparsely hairy.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; elliptic, or ovate; 16-25 cm long; 10-14 cm wide. Primary panicle branches ascending, or spreading. Panicle branches straight, or flexuous. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels filiform; 2-7 mm long; tip widened.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 5-8 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets linear, or oblong; laterally compressed; 8-10 mm long; 1-1.2 mm wide; breaking up at maturity; rhachilla persistent; retaining paleas.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 5-8 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets linear, or oblong; laterally compressed; 8-10 mm long; 1-1.2 mm wide; breaking up at maturity; rhachilla persistent; retaining paleas.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes deciduous; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; 2.5 mm long; 0.8-0.9 length of upper glume; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume primary vein scaberulous. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate; 2.8-3 mm long; 0.8-0.9 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Upper glume primary vein scaberulous. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile lemma ovate; 3.2-3.4 mm long; 1.6-1.8 mm wide; herbaceous; much thinner on margins; keeled; 3 -veined. Lemma apex obtuse, or acute. Palea elliptic; 0.9 length of lemma. Palea keels eciliate. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Lodicules 2; cuneate; 0.7 mm long; fleshy. Anthers 3; oblong; 1.6 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; oblong; 1.6 mm long.
Distribution
Africa: southern tropical.
Reference
Eragrostideae. Launert 1993.
[GB]

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

Morphology General Habit
Densely caespitose perennial without stolons but sometimes with a short oblique rhizome; culms up to 70 cm tall, erect, unbranched, glabrous at the nodes, eglandular; basal leaf sheaths glabrous or more usually pilose, chartaceous, terete, eglandular, disintegrating into a persistent cushion of fibres; ligule a line of hairs; leaf laminas (3)5–12(15) cm × 0.2–1(1.5) mm, tightly involute and filiform, glabrous or pilose, eglandular.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Panicle 6–11 cm long, ovate or elliptic, loose and open, rarely contracted and linear, the spikelets evenly distributed on pedicels 2–7(10) mm long, the primary branches not in whorls, terminating in a fertile spikelet, glabrous in the axils, eglandular.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 8–10(12) × 1–1.2 mm, linear to narrowly oblong, laterally compressed, (3)5–8(10)-flowered, the lemmas disarticulating from below upwards, the rhachilla persistent below but fragile above; glumes unequal, not reaching the middle of the adjacent lemmas, keeled, narrowly lanceolate in profile, scaberulous on the keel but otherwise glabrous, acute at the apex, the inferior 0.6–1.8 mm long, the superior 2–2.4 mm long; lemmas 2.8–3.2 mm long, keeled, narrowly semi-ovate in profile (with straight keel and gibbous margins), firmly membranous with indistinct lateral nerves, appressed to the rhachilla, those in opposite rows not imbricate, the rhachilla visible between them, green or yellowish variegated with purple, glabrous, subacute to sharply acute at the apex; palea persistent, glabrous on the flanks, the keels slender, wingless, smooth and glabrous; anthers 3, (1)1.5–1.8 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis 1.1–1.6 mm long, oblong.
[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

    • '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