Poaceae
Sporobolus

Sporobolus mildbraedii Pilg.

First published in Bot. Jahrb. Syst. 43: 92 (1909)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is E. Central & E. Tropical Africa. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Morphology General Habit
Perennial; caespitose. Butt sheaths herbaceous. Culms erect; 30-60 cm long. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades involute; 5-10 cm long; 1-2 mm wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; linear, or lanceolate; 6-17 cm long. Primary panicle branches moderately spaced (overlapping); whorled at most nodes (6-15 whorls); 1-2 cm long; naked below. Panicle branches glabrous in axils. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; subterete; 2.5-3 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; subterete; 2.5-3 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes deciduous; similar; reaching apex of florets. Lower glume oblong; 1-1.7 mm long; 0.4-0.5 length of upper glume; membranous; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume oblong; 1.5-3 mm long; 1 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; dark green; without keels; 1 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile lemma lanceolate; 2.5-3 mm long; membranous; dark green; without keel; 1 -veined. Lemma apex acute. Palea 2 -veined. Palea keels approximate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Anthers 3; 1.5-1.7 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with free soft pericarp.
Distribution
Africa: west-central tropical and east tropical.
Reference
Eragrostideae. FTEA.
[GB]

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

Morphology General Habit
Caespitose perennial; culms 30–60 cm. high; basal sheaths neither broad and papery nor horny.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades involute, 5–10 cm. long, up to 2 mm. wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Panicle linear to narrowly lanceolate, 6–17 cm. long; primary branches in 6–15 whorls, bare in the lower half of their length, longer than the interval between whorls.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 2.5–3 mm. long, glabrous, dark green; lower glume narrowly lanceolate, 1–1.7 mm. long; upper glume lanceolate-elliptic, as long as the spikelet; lemma similar to the upper glume or a little shorter; anthers 3, 1.5–1.7 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Grain unknown.
Habitat
Stony slopes in deciduous and evergreen bushland; 1600–2100 m.
Distribution
K4 T1 T8 U2 U4
[FTEA]

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 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 2026. 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 2026. 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