Family:
Poaceae Barnhart
Genus:
Echinochloa P.Beauv.
Species:
Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.Beauv.

Echinochloa crus-galli subsp. utilis (Ohwi & Yabuno) T.Koyama

This subspecies is accepted, and its native range is a cultigen from Central China.

[GB]
Morphology General Habit
Annual. Culms erect; robust; 80-150 cm long; 4-10 mm diam. Ligule absent. Leaf-blades 10-50 cm long; 10-30 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface scaberulous; glabrous. Leaf-blade margins scaberulous. Leaf-blade apex acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence composed of racemes. Racemes 10-30; borne along a central axis; closely spaced (inflorescence lanceolate); straight, or arcuate, or incurved; unilateral; 0.5-7 cm long; simple, or secondarily branched. Central inflorescence axis 8-25 cm long; hispid. Rhachis angular. Spikelet packing crowded; irregular; 4-6 -rowed. Spikelets in pairs, or clustered at each node. Fertile spikelets sessile; 2-4 in the cluster.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets ovate, or obovate; dorsally compressed; compressed slightly; gibbous; cuspidate; 3-4 mm long; 2-2.5 mm wide; persistent on plant.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets ovate, or obovate; dorsally compressed; compressed slightly; gibbous; cuspidate; 3-4 mm long; 2-2.5 mm wide; persistent on plant.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes dissimilar; reaching apex of florets; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 0.3-0.4 length of spikelet; membranous; red, or purple; without keels; 3-5 -veined. Lower glume surface hispidulous. Lower glume apex acuminate. Upper glume ovate; membranous; red, or purple; without keels; 3-7 -veined. Upper glume surface hispidulous. Upper glume apex cuspidate; muticous, or awned; 1 -awned.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to upper glume; ovate; 1 length of spikelet; membranous, or chartaceous; purple; 5-7 -veined; hispidulous; acuminate; muticous, or awned. Awn of lower sterile floret 10-20 mm long. Fertile lemma ovate; gibbous; 2.5-3.5 mm long; indurate; much thinner above; shiny; without keel; 5 -veined. Lemma margins involute. Lemma apex acute; laterally pinched. Palea reflexed at apex; indurate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Anthers 3.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis exposed between gaping lemma and palea at maturity.
Distribution
Africa: southern tropical. Asia-temperate: Soviet far east, China, and eastern Asia. Australasia: Australia and New Zealand. Pacific: southwestern and north-central.
Reference
Paniceae. Koyama 1996.

[FZ]

Gramineae, W. D. Clayton. Flora Zambesiaca 10:3. 1989

Morphology General Habit
Like E. frumentacea, but spikelets tinged with red or purple, the inferior lemma shortly acuminate to cuspidate and firmer in texture.

Native to:

China South-Central

Introduced into:

Austria, California, Czechoslovakia, Fiji, Florida, Hawaii, Japan, Kermadec Is., Khabarovsk, Korea, Kuril Is., Missouri, New York, New Zealand North, New Zealand South, Primorye, Sakhalin, South European Russi, Transcaucasus, Ukraine, Vietnam, Zimbabwe

Echinochloa crus-galli subsp. utilis (Ohwi & Yabuno) T.Koyama appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Aug 11, 1982 Saito, Y. [9012], Brazil Echinochloa utilis K001075937 Yes
Aug 11, 1982 Clayton, W.D. [4830], Brazil Echinochloa utilis K001075939 Yes
Jan 19, 1973 Maire, E.E. [2930], Yunnan Echinochloa utilis K001082327 Yes
Irwin, H.S. [5840], Brazil Echinochloa utilis K001075938 Yes

First published in Grass. Japan: 503 (1987)

Not accepted by

  • Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. & Williamson, H. (2006). World Grass Species - Synonymy database The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. [Cited as Echinochloa esculenta.]

Literature

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Chang, C.S., Kim, H. & Chang, K.S. (2014). Provisional checklist of vascular plants for the Korea peninsula flora (KPF): 1-660. DESIGNPOST.
  • Clayton, W.D. & Snow, N. (2010). A key to Pacific Grasses: 1-107. Kew Publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Clayton, W.D. (1989). Flora Zambesiaca 10(3): 1-231. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Danihelka, J. Chrtek, J. & Kaplan, Z. (2012). Checklist of vascular plants of the Czech Republic. Preslia. Casopsi Ceské Botanické Spolecnosti 84: 647-811.
  • Edgar, E & Connor, H.E. (2010). Flora of New Zealand, ed. 2, 5: 1-650. R.E.Owen, Government Printer, Wellington.
  • Engelmaier, P. & Wilhalm, T. (2018). Alien grasses (Poaceae) in the flora of the Eastern Alps. Neilreichia 9: 177-245.
  • Fedorov, A.A. (ed.) (1999). Flora of Russia. The European part and bordering regions 1: 1-546. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, Broekfield.
  • Flora of North America Editorial Committee (2003). Flora of North America North of Mexico 25: 1-781. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford.
  • Hộ, P.-H. (2000). Câycỏ Việtnam. An Illustrated flora of Vietnam, ed. 2, 3: 1-1020. Pham-hoang Ho, Montréal.
  • Kharkevich, S.S., Probatova, N.S. & Novikov, V.S. (1985). Sosudistye rasteniia sovetskogo Dal'nego Vostoka 1: 1-383. Izd-vo "Nauka," Leningradskoe otd-nie, Leningrad.
  • Werier, D. (2017). Catalogue of the Vascular plants of New York state. Memoirs of the Torrey Botanical Club 27: 1-542. New York Botanical Garden.
  • Wu, Z. & Raven, P.H. (eds.) (2006). Poaceae. Flora of China 22: 1-733. Missouri Botanical Garden Press, St. Louis.

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    Flora Zambesiaca
    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

  • 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