| Monocotyledon | Literature for Sporobolus africanus
Wagner et al., 1990, 1999; Lorence & Wagner, 2019. |
| Poaceae -- The Grass Family | Bibliography |
| Sporobolus africanus | |
Common name(s): dropseed, African dropseed, rattail grass, smutgrass |
| General Information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Distribution | Native to Africa, widely naturalized in many regions.In the Hawaiian Islands, naturalized on Kaua`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Lana`i, Maui, Kaho`olawe, Hawai`i. | |
| Habit |
Perennial; culms sparsely to densely
tufted, wiry, 3‒10 dm tall. |
|
| Leaves |
Leaves with sheath 4‒12 cm long, compressed, pilose at throat and along margin, but otherwise glabrous; ligule ciliate, less than 0.2 mm long; blade flat to weakly involute, 10‒25 cm long, 2‒5 mm wide at base, glabrous,
apex attenuate. |
|
| Flowers |
Inflorescences a panicle, 15‒25 cm long, erect, spikelike, sometimes interrupted at base, branches short,
closely appressed. Spikelets (1.5‒)2‒2.8 mm long, glabrous; first glume oblong, 0.4‒0.7 mm long, apex obtuse, second glume ovate, 1‒1.5 mm long, apex acute; lemma oblong to lanceolate, ca. 2 mm long, faintly 3-veined, hyaline, apex obtuse to acute; palea as long as lemma; stamens 3. |
|
| Fruit |
Caryopses dark red, obovate, 1.2‒1.5 mm long, apex obtuse to truncate,
readily separating from the spikelet, but often adhering to the panicle for some time after maturity by the mucilaginous pericarp. |
|
| Chromosomes |
2n = 18, 36 |
|
| Contributor |
Nancy Khan |