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violet crabgrass

Habit Plants annual or of indefinite duration. Plants perennial; cespitose.
Culms

15-60 cm, erect, usually not branching from the upper nodes;

nodes 3-4.

to 100 cm, erect, not branching at the lower nodes;

nodes 1-2.

Sheaths

glabrous or sparsely pubescent;

ligules 0.6-2.5 mm;

blades 1.5-9 cm long, 3-5 mm wide, glabrous, with papillose-based hairs basally.

with appressed hairs, lower sheaths densely hairy, upper sheaths sparingly hairy near the base, otherwise glabrous;

ligules 2-3 mm;

blades 10-40 cm long, to 3 mm wide, usually flat, involute when dry.

Panicles

with 2-7 spikelike primary branches in 1-2 verticils;

primary branches 3-12 cm, erect to ascending, axes 0.6-1 mm wide, wing-margined, wings at least 1/2 as wide as the midribs, lower and middle portions of the branches bearing spikelets in groups of 3(4, 5);

secondary branches rarely present;

axillary inflorescences absent.

with 2-4 spikelike branches on 4-6 cm rachises;

primary branches 20-25 cm long, axes triquetrous, not winged;

primary branches bearing spikelets in unequally pedicellate groups of 3(-5) on the basal 1/2;

secondary branches rarely present, longer pedicels often adnate to the branch axes basally.

Spikelets

1.2-1.7 mm, homomorphic, narrowly elliptic.

2.2-2.5 mm long, 0.8 mm wide, elliptic, acute.

Lower glumes

absent or a veinless, membranous rim;

upper glumes 1.2-1.4 mm, 1/2 as long as to almost equaling the upper lemmas, 3-veined, appressed-pubescent, hairs minutely verrucose;

lower lemmas 1.2-1.7 mm, 5-7-veined, veins equally spaced, region between the 2 inner lateral veins and the margins appressed-pubescent, hairs 0.3-0.5 mm, smooth or minutely verrucose (use 50x magnification), verrucose hairs most abundant near the lemma bases;

upper lemmas light brown when immature, dark brown at maturity;

anthers 0.4-0.6 mm.

absent;

upper glumes 3-veined, margins and intercostal regions with long, glandular-tipped hairs;

lower lemmas 7-veined, margins and the region between the 2 inner marginal veins with long glandular hairs;

upper lemmas light to dark brown at maturity, striate, apiculate.

2n

= 36.

= unknown.

Digitaria violascens

Digitaria leucocoma

Distribution
from FNA
AL; AR; FL; GA; IN; KY; LA; MA; MS; NC; OK; SC; TN; TX; HI; PR
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
Discussion

Digitaria violascens is a weedy species that is native to tropical regions of the Eastern Hemisphere. It is now established in the Flora region, primarily in the south-eastern United States, and in Mexico and Central America. It grows in disturbed sites.

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

Digitaria leucocoma is known only from high pine-lands near Lake Ella, Lake County, Florida. It has been treated in the past as a synonym of D. filiformis var. villosa.

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

Source FNA vol. 25, p. 372. FNA vol. 25, p. 366.
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. setigera, D. simpsonii, D. texana, D. tomentosa, D. velutina
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. 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 Link (Nash) Urb.
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