Poaceae
Eragrostis

Eragrostis patentipilosa Hack.

First published in Proc. Rhodesia Sci. Assoc. 7(2): 67 (1908)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Ethiopia to S. Africa. It is an annual or perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Short-lived perennial without rhizomes, forming sprawling tufts and sometimes ± stoloniferous; culms up to 50 cm tall, mostly ascending, branched or unbranched, glabrous at the nodes, often with a ring of circular glands below the nodes; basal leaf sheaths glabrous, chartaceous, terete or lightly compressed, eglandular, persistent; ligule a line of hairs; leaf laminas 3–9 cm × 1.5–3 mm, linear to broadly linear, flat or involute, glabrous or with scattered tubercle-based hairs, eglandular.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Panicle 3–10 cm long, ovate to broadly ovate, loose and open, the spikelets evenly distributed on pedicels 2–7(9) mm long, these with a sticky annular gland at the mid-point, the primary branches not in whorls, terminating in a fertile spikelet, glabrous in the axils.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 5–10.5 × 1.5–2.5 mm, narrowly elliptic to narrowly oblong, laterally compressed, 7–18-flowered, the lemmas disarticulating from below upwards, the rhachilla persistent; glumes unequal, keeled, glabrous, subacute at the apex, the inferior 1–1.5 mm long, not reaching the middle of the adjacent lemma, narrowly lanceolate in profile, the superior 1.5–2(2.3) mm long, scarcely reaching or just exceeding the middle of the adjacent lemma, lanceolate in profile; lemmas 1.8–2.4 mm long, keeled, ovate or elliptic-ovate in profile, thinly cartilaginous with indistinct lateral nerves, ± appressed to the rhachilla, those in opposite rows scarcely imbricate, the rhachilla ± visible between them, dark greyish-green, glabrous, subacute to obtuse at the apex; palea persistent, glabrous on the flanks, the keels slender, wingless, scaberulous; anthers 3, 0.7–1.3 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis 0.6–0.8 mm long, oblong-elliptic.
[FZ]

Morphology General Habit
Perennial; short-lived; caespitose. Stolons absent, or present. Culms decumbent; 12-35 cm long. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades 3-9 cm long; 2-3 mm wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; ovate; effuse; 3-9 cm long. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels filiform (often with brownish ring at midpoint); 2-7 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 7-18 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets elliptic; laterally compressed; 5-10 mm long; 1.5-2.5 mm wide; breaking up at maturity; rhachilla persistent; retaining paleas.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 7-18 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets elliptic; laterally compressed; 5-10 mm long; 1.5-2.5 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; 1-1.5 mm long; 0.6-0.8 length of upper glume; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume ovate; 1.5-2 mm long; 0.8-0.9 length of adjacent fertile lemma; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile lemma ovate; 1.8-2.2 mm long; chartaceous; dark green; shiny; keeled; 3 -veined. Lemma lateral veins obscure. Lemma apex acute. Palea keels scaberulous. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Anthers 3; 1 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; ellipsoid; 0.8 mm long.
Distribution
Africa: northeast tropical, east tropical, southern tropical, and south.
Reference
Eragrostideae. FTEA.
[GB]

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

Morphology General Habit
Short-lived perennial forming sprawling tufts; culms 12–35 cm. high, geniculately ascending, sometimes stoloniferous.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades flat, 3–9 cm. long, 2–3 mm. wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Panicle broadly ovate, 3–8 cm. long, loose and open; pedicels slender, 2–7 mm. long, often with a brownish ring about the midpoint.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 7–18-flowered, narrowly elliptic, 5–10 mm. long, 1.5–2.5 mm. wide, florets rather loose with the spikelet-margins serrate, dark greyish green, glossy, breaking up from the base, the rhachilla persistent; glumes unequal, the lower lanceolate, 1–1.5 mm. long, the upper narrowly ovate, 1–5–2 mm. long; lemmas broadly ovate, 1.8–2.2 mm. long, cartilaginous, the nerves indistinct, subacute (acute in side view); palea scaberulous on the keels, persistent; anthers 3, 1 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis ellipsoid, 0.8 mm. long.
Figures
Fig. 62/3, p. 196.
Habitat
Roadsides and open places; 1600–2200 m.
Distribution
K3 T4 Ethiopia to South Africa
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Flora Zambesiaca

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

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • 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 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