- Family:
- Poaceae Barnhart
- Genus:
- Koeleria Pers.
Koeleria capensis (Thunb.) Nees

[GB]
- Morphology General Habit
- Perennial; caespitose. Butt sheaths papery; not bulbous, or thickened and forming a bulb; persistent and investing base of culm; with fibrous dead sheaths. Culms erect; 20-80 cm long. Leaves mostly basal. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 1-2 mm long. Leaf-blades convolute; 5-30 cm long; 0.5-2 mm wide; stiff. Leaf-blade surface glabrous, or pubescent.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
- Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle spiciform; linear, or lanceolate; continuous, or interrupted; 4-15 cm long. Panicle branches pubescent. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels oblong.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
- Spikelets comprising 1-3 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong, or cuneate; laterally compressed; 4-7 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Rhachilla internodes definite; pubescent.
- Fertile
- Spikelets comprising 1-3 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong, or cuneate; laterally compressed; 4-7 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Rhachilla internodes definite; pubescent.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
- Glumes persistent; similar; reaching apex of florets, or shorter than spikelet; similar to fertile lemma in texture; shiny; gaping. Lower glume lanceolate; 3.5-6 mm long; 0.8-1 length of upper glume; membranous; much thinner on margins; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume surface glabrous, or puberulous. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate; 4.5-6 mm long; 0.8-1 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; with hyaline margins; 1-keeled; 3 -veined. Upper glume surface glabrous, or puberulous. Upper glume apex acuminate.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
- Fertile lemma elliptic; 3-6.5 mm long; membranous; much thinner on margins; shiny; keeled; keeled above; 3 -veined. Lemma surface asperulous. Lemma apex acute, or acuminate. Palea gaping. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
- Lodicules 2; oblong; membranous; 2-toothed. Anthers 3; (1-)1.8-2.5 mm long. Ovary glabrous.
- Distribution
- Africa: west-central tropical, northeast tropical, east tropical, southern tropical, and south.
- Reference
- Aveneae. FTEA.
[FWTA]
Gramineae, W. D. Clayton. Flora of West Tropical Africa 3:2. 1972
- Morphology General Habit
- Tufted perennial, 23–45 cm. high.
[FTEA]
Gramineae, W. D. Clayton, S. M. Phillips & S. A. Renvoize. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1974
- Morphology General Habit
- Densely caespitose perennial; culms 20–80 cm. high, simple, erect, bulbous at the base.
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaf-blades 5–30 cm. long and up to 2 mm. wide, convolute, stiff and wiry, glabrous or pubescent; ligule up to 2 mm. long, membranous; old leaf-sheaths shredding into stiff brown slivers forming a dense tuft about the base of the culm.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
- Panicle linear to lanceolate, 4–15 cm. long, dense and continuous or lobed and interrupted; rhachis pubescent to tomentose.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
- Spikelets 1–3-flowered, green, purplish or palely shining; glumes glabrous or minutely pubescent, acute or acuminate, the lower narrowly lanceolate, shorter than the upper, 1-nerved, the upper elliptic, 3.5–6 mm. long, 1–3-nerved; lemmas elliptic, 3–5 mm. long, 3-nerved, asperulous, acute to acuminate, rarely obtuse or mucronate; anthers (1–)1.8–2.5 mm. long.
- Figures
- Fig. 27, p. 80.
- Habitat
- Upland grassland and moorland, sometimes on dry open ground with little vegetation; 1800–5300 m.
- Distribution
- from the Cameroun Republic and Ethiopia southwards to the Cape K2 K3 K4 K5 T2 T7 T8 U1 U3
[FZ]
Gramineae, E. Launert. Flora Zambesiaca 10:1. 1971
- Morphology General Habit
- A densely caespitose very variable perennial.
- Morphology Culms
- Culms 15-90 cm. tall, 1-2-noded, erect or rarely geniculately ascending, simple, slender, almost wiry, terete, glabrous to sometimes thinly tomentose in the upper part.
- Morphology Leaves
- Leaves densely crowded at the slightly thickened base; leaf-sheaths longer than the lower internodes, striate, usually somewhat loose, often papery, long persistent, glabrous or pubescent.
- Morphology Leaves Ligules
- Ligule c. 2 mm. long.
- Morphology Leaves Leaf lamina
- Leaf-laminae 3-35 cm. long, very narrowly linear to filiform, tapering to a hard bluntish tip, usually convolute or simply plicate, somewhat stiff, usually erect or nearly so, glabrous or pubescent, smooth or finely asperulous.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
- Panicle (3)5-12(17) cm. long, erect, more or less cylindric, rather condensed, almost spike-like, continuous, or sometimes lobed and often interrupted; rhachis pubescent to thinly tomentose.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
- Spikelets 4-7 mm. long, 2-4-flowered, elliptic to elliptic-obovate in lateral view, gaping, green, often tinged with purple, or sometimes variegated with brown and purple.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
- Glumes with the keels scabrous or sometimes ciliolate towards the apex, margins hyaline and thin; the inferior 3.5-6 mm. long, 1-nerved, narrowly lanceolate; the superior 4.5-6 mm. long, usually 3-nerved, elliptic, apex acuminate.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Lemma
- Lemmas 4-6.5 mm. long, 3-nerved, elliptic to elliptic-oblong, apex acuminate, with the keel scaberulous or sometimes ciliolate, the flanks asperulous or finely puberulous.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers
- Anthers 2-3 mm. long, linear.
- Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
- Caryopsis c. 3 mm. long.
Native to:
Cameroon, Cape Provinces, Ethiopia, Free State, Kenya, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Northern Provinces, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe
- Aira capensis (Thunb.) Steud.
- Airochloa alopecurus (Nees) Nees
- Airochloa capensis (Thunb.) Nees
- Airochloa convoluta Domin
- Airochloa uniflora Hochst.
- Alopecurus capensis Thunb.
- Dactylis villosa Thunb.
- Festuca villosa (Thunb.) Spreng.
- Koeleria alopecurus Nees
- Koeleria convoluta Hochst. ex Steud.
- Koeleria convoluta subvar. supina Domin
- Koeleria gracilis var. convoluta (Hochst. ex Steud.) Hedberg
- Koeleria gracilis var. supina (Domin) Hedberg
- Koeleria uniflora (Hochst.) Schweinf. & Asch.
- Koeleria wildemanii Domin
- Lasiochloa villosa (Thunb.) Kunth
Koeleria capensis (Thunb.) Nees appears in other Kew resources:
Date | Reference | Identified As | Barcode | Type Status | Has image? |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec 1, 1963 | Boughey, A.S. [12672], Cameroon | K000181983 | No | ||
Jan 1, 1963 | Morton, J.K. [6895], Cameroon | K000181989 | No | ||
Jan 1, 1961 | Boughey, A.S. [12644], Cameroon | K000181987 | No | ||
Jan 1, 1961 | Morton, J.K. [K 1002], Cameroon | K000181982 | No | ||
Burchell, W. J. [4246], South Africa | K000345046 | Yes | |||
Burchell, W. J. [119], South Africa | K000345047 | Yes | |||
Drege [s.n.], South Africa | K000345048 | Yes | |||
Zeyher [2583], South Africa | K000345049 | Yes | |||
Harvey [147], South Africa | K000345051 | Yes | |||
Ecklon, U.J. [945], South Africa | K000345050 | Yes | |||
Cooper, T. [914], South Africa | K000345053 | Yes | |||
Lehmann [s.n.], South Africa | K000345054 | Yes | |||
Drege [s.n.], South Africa | K000345055 | Yes | |||
Zeyher [4586], South Africa | K000345057 | Yes | |||
South Africa | K000345056 | Yes | |||
Drege [s.n.], South Africa | K000345058 | Yes | |||
Bolus, H. [710], South Africa | K000345059 | Yes | |||
Buchanan, J. [s.n.], South Africa | K000345061 | Yes | |||
Whyte, A. [s.n.] | K000345063 | Yes | |||
Buchanan, J. [991] | K000345064 | Yes | |||
Buchanan, J. [989] | K000345065 | Yes | |||
Volkens, G. [1351], Tanzania | K000345066 | Yes | |||
Thaarer, A. [1122], Tanzania | K000345067 | Unknown type material | Yes | ||
Schimper [671], Ethiopia | K000345069 | Yes | |||
Schimper [689], Ethiopia | K000345068 | Yes | |||
Schimper [s.n.], Ethiopia | K000345070 | Yes | |||
Drege [s.n.], South Africa | K000345052 | Yes | |||
Johnston, H. H. [64] | K000345062 | Yes | |||
Zeyher [4594], South Africa | K000345060 | Yes | |||
Maitland, T.D. [1297], Cameroon | K000181984 | No | |||
Breteler, F.J. [68], Cameroon | K000181991 | No | |||
Linder, D.H. [3452], Cameroon | K000181995 | No | |||
Keay, R.W.J. [28617], Cameroon | K000181988 | No |
First published in Linnaea 7: 321 (1832)
Accepted by
- Clayton, W.D. (1970). Gramineae Flora of Tropical East Africa 1: 1-176.
- Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. & Williamson, H. (2006). World Grass Species - Synonymy database The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14.: i-vi, 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
- Hedberg, I. & Edwards, S. (eds.) (1995). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 7: 1-430. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
- Hepper, F.N. (ed.) (1972). Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 3(2): 277-574.
- Launert, E. (1971). Flora Zambesiaca 10(1): 1-152. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Onana, J.M. (2011). The vascular plants of Cameroon a taxonomic checklist with IUCN assessments: 1-195. National herbarium of Cameroon, Yaoundé.
- Wood, J.R.I. (1997). A Handbook of the Yemen Flora: 1-434. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Literature
Flora of West Tropical Africa
- in Linnaea 7: 321 (1832).
Kew Backbone Distributions
- Clayton, W.D. (1970). Gramineae Flora of Tropical East Africa 1: 1-176.
- Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Germishuizen, G. & Meyer, N.L. (eds.) (2003). Plants of Southern Africa: an annotated checklist. Strelitzia 14.: i-vi, 1-1231. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.
- Hedberg, I. & Edwards, S. (eds.) (1995). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 7: 1-430. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
- Hepper, F.N. (ed.) (1972). Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 3(2): 277-574.
- Launert, E. (1971). Flora Zambesiaca 10(1): 1-152. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Wood, J.R.I. (1997). A Handbook of the Yemen Flora: 1-434. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Flora of Tropical East Africa
- Nees in Linnaea 7: 321 (1832).
-
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
-
Flora of West Tropical Africa
Flora of West Tropical Africa
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
-
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 Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
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Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
© Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0