Poaceae
Sporobolus

Sporobolus paniculatus (Trin.) T.Durand & Schinz

First published in Consp. Fl. Afric. 5: 823 (1894)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Tropical & S. Africa, Madagascar. It is an annual and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Loosely caespitose annual; culms up to 70 cm tall, erect, branched or unbranched; leaf sheaths chartaceous, usually glabrous, sometimes tuberculate-pilose especially towards the margins, terete or lightly compressed; leaf laminas 4–7.5 cm × 2.5–7 mm, flat, glabrous or tuberculate-pilose on the surface, usually pectinate on the margins with stiff tubercle-based setae but without raised glands interspersed among them, acute at the apex.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Panicle 10–18 cm long, lanceolate to narrowly oblong; branches in a succession of whorls, smooth, with elongated viscid glandular patches, the spikelets 2–3 on secondary branchlets or 5–6 directly on the primary branches, the spikelets or branchlets confined to the distal part of the primary branches.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 1.5–2.1 mm long, reddish; inferior glume 2/5–2/3 the length of the spikelet, narrowly lanceolate to lanceolate, nerveless, glabrous, acute to acuminate at the apex; superior glume as long as the spikelet, ovate-elliptic, 1-nerved, glabrous or minutely asperulous, acute to acuminate at the apex; lemma as long as the spikelet or almost so, ovate-elliptic; anthers 3, 1–1.2 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Grain broadly elliptic to obovate, 0.7–1.25 mm long, terete or lightly laterally compressed.
[FZ]

Morphology General Habit
Annual; culms solitary, or caespitose. Culms erect, or geniculately ascending; 10-60 cm long. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades 2-16 cm long; 1-4 mm wide. Leaf-blade margins ciliate. Leaf-blade apex acuminate, or attenuate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; lanceolate; 3-15 cm long. Primary panicle branches whorled at most nodes; bearing 4-12 fertile spikelets on each lower branch. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; subterete; 1-2.2 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; subterete; 1-2.2 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes deciduous; similar; exceeding apex of florets. Lower glume lanceolate; 0.4-1.3 mm long; 0.5 length of upper glume; membranous; without keels; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute, or acuminate. Upper glume ovate; 1-2.2 mm long; 1.1 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; red; without keels; 1 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume surface smooth, or asperulous. Upper glume apex acute, or acuminate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile lemma ovate; 0.9-2 mm long; membranous; red; without keel; 1 -veined. Lemma surface smooth, or scaberulous. Lemma apex acute. Palea 2 -veined. Palea keels approximate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Anthers 3; 0.2-0.8(-1) mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with free soft pericarp; ellipsoid; laterally compressed; 0.8-1.4 mm long.
Distribution
Africa: west tropical, west-central tropical, northeast tropical, east tropical, southern tropical, south, and western Indian ocean.
Reference
Eragrostideae. FTEA.
[GB]

Gramineae, W. D. Clayton. Flora of West Tropical Africa 3:2. 1972

Morphology General Height
Up to 60 cm. high
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Dark red spikelets
Ecology
Rock outcrops and hillsides.
[FWTA]

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

Morphology General Habit
Annual; culms 10–60 cm. high, solitary or loosely tufted, erect or ascending.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades linear, 2–16 cm. long, 1–4 mm. wide, pectinate-ciliate or sparsely pilose on the margins, acuminate to filiform at the tip.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Panicle lanceolate to narrowly oblong, 3–15 cm. long; primary branches in whorls, each bearing 4–12 spikelets.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 1–2.2 mm. long, glabrous or scaberulous, tinged with dark red; lower glume lanceolate, 0.4–1.3 mm. long; upper glume ovate-elliptic, as long as the spikelet; lemma similar to the upper glume, but a little shorter; anthers 3, 0.2–0.8(–1) mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Grain ellipsoid to narrowly oblong, distinctly laterally compressed, 0.8–1.4 mm. long.
Habitat
Shallow soils on rocks, road verges and steep hillsides in open bushland or wooded grassland; 1200–2000 m.
Distribution
tropical Africa K5 T1 T4 T6 T7 T8 U3
[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

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    • 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

    • 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