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East Indian crabgrass

Asian crabgrass

Habit Plants of indefinite duration. Plants of indefinite duration; sometimes stoloniferous.
Culms

to 120 cm tall, bases long-decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes.

with erect portion 10-85 cm, long-decumbent, rooting and branching at the lower nodes.

Sheaths

with papillose-based hairs;

ligules 2.5-3.5 mm;

blades 4-28 cm long, 4-12 mm wide, scabrous, usually with some scattered papillose-based hairs on the base of the adaxial surfaces, sometimes with hairs all over.

with papillose-based hairs or the upper sheaths glabrous;

ligules 1-4 mm;

blades 3-14 cm long, 2-9 mm wide, mostly glabrous but the adaxial surfaces with papillose-based hairs basally.

Panicles

with 3-11 spikelike primary branches in 1-several whorls, rachises to 6 cm;

primary branches 5-15 cm, axes wing-margined, wings more than 1/2 as wide as the midribs, lower and middle portions bearing spikelets in unequally pedicellate pairs;

secondary branches absent;

shorter pedicels 0.3-0.8 mm;

longer pedicels 1.7-2.7 mm.

with (2)3-6 spikelike primary branches, these digitate or a few solitary branches below;

lowest nodes glabrous or with hairs less than 0.4 mm;

primary branches 6.5-21 cm long, 0.6-1.3 mm wide, axes winged, wings at least 1/2 as wide as the midribs, lower and middle portions bearing spikelets in unequally pedicellate pairs, pedicels not adnate to the branches;

secondary branches absent;

shorter pedicels about 0.2 mm;

longer pedicels to 2 mm.

Spikelets

2.4-3.5 mm, homomorphic, ovate.

2.6-3.7 mm, spikelet pairs dimorphic in their pubescence and venation pattern of the lower lemmas.

Lower glumes

absent or to 0.1 mm;

upper glumes 0.2-1.3 mm, 1/6 - 1/3 as long as the spikelets, 1-3-veined, margins and apices with appressed, white hairs about 0.5 mm, truncate or bilobed;

lower lemmas (5)7-veined, veins smooth or scabrous only over the distal 1/3, unequally spaced, margins and lateral intercostal regions silky-ciliate;

upper lemmas tan or gray when immature, brown at maturity, acuminate;

anthers 0.6-1.3 mm.

absent or to 0.9 mm, deltoid or bifid;

upper glumes 1.7-2.8 mm, 1/2 - 3/4 as long as the spikelets, 3-veined;

lower lemmas 7-veined, veins smooth;

lower lemmas of shortly pedicellate spikelets with 3 equally spaced, glabrous or shortly pubescent central veins, lemma margins and the region between the 2 lateral veins with appressed or spreading, 0.5-1 mm hairs;

lower lemmas of long-pedicellate spikelets with unequally spaced veins, midvein well-separated from the 3 lateral veins, lateral veins crowded together near the margins, lemma margins and the region between the 2 inner lateral veins hairy with appressed or strongly divergent, 1-2 mm hairs, sometimes also with longer, glassy yellow hairs;

upper lemmas of all spikelets usually yellow or gray, sometimes light brown, at maturity;

anthers 0.5-0.6 mm.

2n

= 70, 72.

= 54, 72.

Digitaria setigera

Digitaria bicornis

Distribution
from FNA
FL; HI; PR
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
AL; FL; GA; IA; LA; MS; NC; SC; TX; VA; PR
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Digitaria setigera is native to southeastern Asia. It is now established in tropical America, growing in disturbed habitats in Florida and Central America, and probably in tropical South America. It has often been confused with D. sanguinalis.

Plants in the Flora region belong to Digitaria setigera Roth var. setigera. Unlike plants of D. setigera var. calliblepharata (Henrard) Veldkamp, they do not have large, glassy hairs on their lower lemmas.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Digitaria bicornis is a common species on the sandy coastal plain of the southeastern United States. Its range extends through Mexico to Costa Rica and northern South America, as well as to the West Indies. The Californian record reflects a 1926 collection; the species is not known to be established in the state.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 382. FNA vol. 25, p. 380.
Parent taxa Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Digitaria Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Digitaria
Sibling taxa
D. abyssinica, D. arenicola, D. bakeri, D. bicornis, D. californica, D. ciliaris, D. cognata, D. didactyla, D. eriantha, D. filiformis, D. floridana, D. gracillima, D. hitchcockii, D. horizontalis, D. insularis, D. ischaemum, D. leucocoma, D. longiflora, D. milanjiana, D. nuda, D. patens, D. pauciflora, D. pubiflora, D. sanguinalis, D. serotina, D. simpsonii, D. texana, D. tomentosa, D. velutina, D. violascens
D. abyssinica, D. arenicola, D. bakeri, D. californica, D. ciliaris, D. cognata, D. didactyla, D. eriantha, D. filiformis, D. floridana, D. gracillima, D. hitchcockii, D. horizontalis, D. insularis, D. ischaemum, D. leucocoma, D. longiflora, D. milanjiana, D. nuda, D. patens, D. pauciflora, D. pubiflora, D. sanguinalis, D. serotina, D. setigera, D. simpsonii, D. texana, D. tomentosa, D. velutina, D. violascens
Name authority Roth (Lam.) Roem. & Schult.
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