Eragrostis mollior Pilg.

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

Morphology General Habit

Densely caespitose perennial without rhizomes or stolons; culms up to 120 cm tall, erect, unbranched, glabrous at the nodes, densely velutinous to glabrescent or rarely glabrous on the internodes, eglandular; basal leaf sheaths densely woolly-tomentose below, chartaceous, terete, eglandular, disintegrating into persistent fibres; ligule a line of hairs; leaf laminas 15–50 cm × 2–8(10) mm, linear, flat or becoming involute when dry, scaberulous to velutinous, rarely smooth and glabrous, glaucous to bright green.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Panicle 15–50(70) cm long, broadly linear to lanceolate, diffuse or contracted, the spikelets evenly distributed, the branches and, where present, the branchlets stiff and straight, clearly demarcated from the slender flexuous pedicels, these 3–6(10) mm long, the primary branches not or scarcely in whorls, usually terminating in a slender bristle, often with long silky hairs in the axils, eglandular.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets

Spikelets 2–4(4.5) × 2–2.5 mm, ovate-oblong, not compressed, 3–7(10)-flowered, disarticulating from the apex downwards, the rhachilla fragile; glumes subequal or unequal, lanceolate to ovate-oblong, glabrous, obtuse to acute at the apex, the inferior 0.6–1.3 mm long, not reaching the middle of the adjacent lemma, the superior 0.8–2 mm long, not reaching or just exceeding the middle of the adjacent lemma; lemmas 1.7–2.2 mm long, dorsally rounded, ovate-elliptic to ovate, thinly membranous with distinct lateral nerves, somewhat diverging from the rhachilla, those in opposite rows not imbricate, the rhachilla visible between them, olive-green, glabrous, asperulous or ± appressedly pubescent near the margins, narrowly acute at the apex; palea glabrous on the flanks, the keels slender, wingless, sparsely ciliate with short, irregular, often crumpled hairs 0.1–0.5 mm long; anthers 3, 0.6–1(1.2) mm long.

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Caryopsis 0.6–0.7 mm long, elliptic.