Poaceae
Eragrostis

Eragrostis desolata Launert

First published in Bol. Soc. Brot., sér. 2, 35: 18 (1961)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is E. Zimbabwe to Northern Prov. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Morphology General Habit
Perennial; caespitose. Butt sheaths glabrous, or pilose. Glands sunken crateriform and annular. Culms erect; 40-70 cm long. Lateral branches lacking. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface, or pilose. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades flexuous; filiform; involute; 5-12 cm long; 0.5-2 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface scaberulous; glabrous, or pilose; sparsely hairy.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; elliptic, or ovate; 10-30 cm long; 8-15 cm wide. Primary panicle branches ascending, or spreading; 1 -nate. Panicle axis smooth, or scaberulous. Panicle branches glandular; smooth, or scaberulous. Spikelets spreading; solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels filiform; 2-8 mm long; glandular; scaberulous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 8-14 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets elliptic, or oblong; laterally compressed; 5-9 mm long; 4 mm wide; breaking up at maturity; rhachilla persistent; retaining paleas.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 8-14 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets elliptic, or oblong; laterally compressed; 5-9 mm long; 4 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, or ovate; 1.6 mm long; 1 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, or ovate; 1.6 mm long; 0.8 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 elliptic, or ovate; 1.8-2 mm long; 1.4-1.6 mm wide; membranous; dark green, or grey; keeled; lightly keeled; 3 -veined. Lemma midvein scaberulous. Lemma lateral veins obscure. Lemma apex acute. Palea keels ciliolate. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Lodicules 2; cuneate; 0.4 mm long; fleshy. Anthers 3; 1.2 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; oblong; quadrangular; 0.8-1 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 rhizomes or stolons; culms up to 70 cm tall, erect, unbranched, glabrous at the nodes, with an annular glandular patch below the nodes and punctate or crateriform glands on the internodes; basal leaf sheaths densely and shortly pilose to glabrescent below, chartaceous, terete or lightly compressed, eglandular, persistent; ligule a line of hairs; leaf laminas 5–14 cm × 0.5–2(4.5) mm, involute and ± filiform or flat and narrowly linear, glabrous to densely pilose, eglandular.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Panicle 10–22(30) cm long, ovate-oblong or elliptic, open with stiff branches, the spikelets evenly distributed on pedicels 2–5 mm long, the primary branches not in whorls, terminating in a fertile spikelet, glabrous in the axils, the axis, primary branches, branchlets and pedicels with punctate or crateriform glands, the branchlets and pedicels also with annular glands.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 5–10 × 2.5–4 mm, elliptic-oblong, laterally compressed, 8–14-flowered, the lemmas disarticulating from below upwards, the rhachilla persistent; glumes subequal, 1.4–1.6 mm long, reaching to between 2/3 and 3/4 the way along the adjacent lemmas, keeled, lanceolate in profile, scaberulous on the keel, acute at the apex; lemmas 1.8–2.1 mm long, keeled, elliptic-ovate in profile, membranous with indistinct lateral nerves, diverging from the rhachilla at less than 45°, those in opposite rows imbricate and concealing the rhachilla, olive-green to leaden-grey, scaberulous on the keel, subacute at the apex; palea persistent, glabrous on the flanks, the keels slender, wingless, minutely ciliolate; anthers 3, 1–1.2 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis 0.8–1 mm long, oblong.
[FZ]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/66153582/66153585

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

Sources

  • 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/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 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 2023. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2022 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0