Digitaria didactyla Willd.

Map

Inflorescence

Plant

Habit

Spikelets

Collar

Description

Plants perennial; stoloniferous and rhizomatous, mat-forming. Culms 15–40(63) cm, rooting and branching from the lower nodes. Sheaths densely to sparsely hairy, with 3–5 mm papillose-based hairs; ligules 1–1.5 mm; blades 2.5–7 cm long, 1–3 mm wide, flat or folded, usually glabrous, green to bluish-green. Panicles with 2–4 spikelike primary branches digitately arranged; primary branches 2–7 cm, axes wingmargined, wings at least 1/2 as wide as the midribs, spikelets somewhat imbricate, in unequally pedicellate pairs; secondary branches rarely present; pedicels not adnate to the branches; shorter pedicels 1–1.5 mm; longer pedicels 2–3 mm; axillary panicles not present. Spikelets homomorphic, 2–2.8 mm long, about 0.8 mm wide. Lower glumes to 0.3 mm, triangular; upper glumes from 1/2–3/4 as long as the spikelets, 3- veined, pilose on the margins and sometimes between the veins; upper lemmas equaling the spikelets, prominently 7-veined, veins equally spaced, margins and sometimes the intercostal regions pilose, hairs 0.3–0.5 mm; upper lemmas slightly shorter than the lower lemmas, almost smooth, gray, sometimes purple-tinged, at maturity. 2n = unknown.
(Description source: Barkworth, M.E., Capels, K.M., Long, S. & Piep, M.B. (eds.) 2003. Flora of North America, north of Mexico. Volume 25. Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Poaceae, Part 2. Oxford University Press, New York. 783 pp http://floranorthamerica.org/Digitaria_didactyla )