Info
Subfamily: Chloridoideae
Genus etymology: Dinebra = "little tail" [Arabic, originally dzanaib before being Latinized], refering to the tips of the glumes
Species etymology: panicea = "pertaining to Pancium L." [Latin] refering to a similarity to the grass Panicum; brachiata = "forearm possessing" [Latin] refering to the inflorscence bearing branches at right angles
Photosynthetic type: C4 (warm season)
Nativity: naturalized - accidental
First recorded in Hawaiʻi: 2011
Map
Inflorescence
Plant
Habit
Spikelets
Landscape
Collar
Description
Plants annual. Culms (5)13-150 cm, usually erect, compressed, branching; internodes hollow. Sheaths sparsely or densely hairy, particularly distally, hairs papillose-based; ligules 0.6-3.2 mm, membranous, truncate, erose; blades 6-25 cm long, 2-21 mm wide, glabrous or sparsely pilose on both surfaces. Panicles 8-30 cm, with 3-100 racemose branches; branches 1-19 cm, ascending to reflexed. Spikelets 2-4 mm, distant to imbricate, green, magenta, or maroon, with 2-5(6) florets. Glumes sometimes exceeding the florets, linear to narrowly elliptic, acute, attenuate, or aristate; lower glumes 1.6-4 mm, linear to lanceolate; upper glumes 1.6-3.6 mm, lanceolate; lemmas 0.9-1.7 mm, glabrous or somewhat sericeous, acute to obtuse; paleas glabrous or sericeous; anthers 3, 0.2-0.3 mm. Caryopses 0.8-1.2 mm long, 0.5-0.6 mm wide, nearly round in cross section, with or without a ventral groove, apices acute to broadly obtuse.
(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/Leptochloa_panicea )