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East Indian crabgrass

isle-of-pines crabgrass

Habit Plants of indefinite duration. Plants of indefinite duration; not rhizomatous.
Culms

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

80-120 cm, erect or decumbent and rooting at the lower nodes, not branching at the aerial 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.

hirsute, with papillose-based hairs, those of the innovation sheaths compressed-keeled;

ligules 1-2 mm;

blades 7-30 cm long, 3-5 mm wide, flat, pilose above and below.

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 6-8 spikelike primary branches on 4-6 cm rachises;

primary branches 8-13 cm, axes triquetrous, narrowly winged, wings less than 1/2 as wide as the midribs, lower and middle portions of the branches bearing spikelets in appressed, unequally pedicellate pairs;

secondary branches rarely present;

axillary inflorescences not present;

pedicels not adnate to the branch axes.

Spikelets

2.4-3.5 mm, homomorphic, ovate.

about 3 mm, elliptic lanceolate, acute.

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 minute and hyaline;

upper glumes 7-9-veined, glabrous or obscurely pubescent;

lower lemmas 7-9-veined, glabrous or obscurely pubescent;

upper lemmas elliptic, yellow or gray, becoming purple at maturity, slightly apiculate.

2n

= 70, 72.

= unknown.

Digitaria setigera

Digitaria simpsonii

Distribution
from FNA
FL; HI; PR
[BONAP county map]
from FNA
FL
[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 simpsonii is a rare species, known only from sandy fields in Florida.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 382. FNA vol. 25, p. 374.
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. 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. setigera, D. texana, D. tomentosa, D. velutina, D. violascens
Name authority Roth (Vasey) Fernald
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