| Synonyms: |
Andropogon brevifolius Sw. Andropogon flaccidus A. Rich. Schizachyrium brevifolium var. flaccidum (A. Rich.) Stapf |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
Delicate, caespitose, erect or ± scrambling and decumbent annual, tinged with bright purplish-red; culms up to 40(80) cm high, much branched from below, often in fascicles; internodes delicate, linear, compressed. Leaf sheaths shorter than the internodes, glabrous; laminas 0.8–5 cm × up to 5.5 mm, keeled, obtuse at the apex. Racemes borne throughout the plant, 0.5–3 cm long, filiform, glabrous or sometimes with short hairs throughout, shortly exserted from and partially enclosed by the linear spatheole; peduncle shorter than the raceme; internodes and pedicels filiform and flattened below, clavate above. Sessile spikelet 2.3–3.5 mm long, 1/5 as long again as the pedicel, linear-ovate, dorsally compressed, rounded at the base; inferior glume slightly convex; superior lemma bifid almost to the base; awn slender, 6–13 mm long, geniculate; anthers very small, 0.5–0.6 mm long. Pedicelled spikelet reduced to an awned vestigial glume 0.3–1.2 mm long; awn 2.5–3.5 mm long, straight. |
| Type location: |
Jamaica |
| Notes: | |
| Derivation of specific name: | brevifolium: with short leaves |
| Habitat: | Damp and waterlogged, grazed and ungrazed meadows, open sandy ground, river- and roadsides, and cultivated ground |
| Altitude range: (metres) | 500 - 1530 m |
| Flowering time: | |
| Worldwide distribution: | Pantropical |
| FZ divisions: | N,T,MS |
| Growth form(s): | |
| Endemic status: | |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects associated with this species: | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Burrows, J.E. & Willis, C.K. (eds) (2005). Plants of the Nyika Plateau Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 31 SABONET, Pretoria Page 361. (Includes a picture). Chapano, C. & Mugarisanwa, N.H. (2003). Plants of the Matobo District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 32. Cope, T.A. (2002). Poaceae Flora Zambesiaca 10(4) Page 82. Jackson, G. & Wiehe, P.O. (1958). An Annotated Check List of Nyasaland Grasses The Government Printer, Zomba, Nyasaland Page 57. Also as var. flaccidum Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 109. |