Poaceae
Sporobolus

Sporobolus natalensis (Steud.) T.Durand & Schinz

First published in Consp. Fl. Afric. 5: 822 (1894)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Cameroon to Eritrea and S. Africa, Arabian Peninsula. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Morphology General Habit
Perennial; caespitose. Butt sheaths papery. Culms erect; 60-120 cm long. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades flat, or convolute; 25-50 cm long; 2-4 mm wide. Leaf-blade apex filiform.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; pyramidal; 20-30 cm long; contracted about primary branches. Primary panicle branches ascending, or spreading; 3-7 cm long; bearing spikelets almost to the base. 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; 1.6-2.3 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; subterete; 1.6-2.3 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes deciduous; dissimilar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume oblong; 0.5-0.8 mm long; 0.6 length of upper glume; hyaline; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex obtuse. Upper glume ovate; 0.8-1.3 mm long; 0.5 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; without keels; 1 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile lemma ovate; 1.6-2.3 mm long; membranous; without keel; 1 -veined. Lemma apex acute. Palea 2 -veined. Palea keels approximate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Anthers 3; 0.8-1 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with free soft pericarp; obovoid; 0.7-0.8 mm long.
Distribution
Africa: west-central tropical, northeast tropical, east tropical, southern tropical, south, and middle Atlantic ocean. Asia-temperate: Arabia. Australasia: Australia.
Reference
Eragrostideae. FTEA.
Diagnostic
Grain truncate.
[GB]

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

  • 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

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • 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 2025. 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 2025. 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