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| Synonyms: |
Aristida barbicollis var. conglomerata Henrard Aristida congesta Roem. & Schult. subsp. barbicollis (Trin. & Rupr.) De Winter Aristida lommelii Mez Chaetaria forskolii Nees |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
Perennial, 20-65 cm. high, usually glaucous, densely caespitose. Culms erect or ascending, slender, simple or branched from the lower nodes, somewhat wiry, distinctly compressed, especially below, usually glabrous, sometimes slightly scaberulous, 3-4-noded; nodes glabrous, smooth. Leaf-sheaths more or less keeled, tight or lax, glabrous or somewhat scaberulous. Ligule densely short-ciliolate; auricles usually long-barbate; collar laterally barbate, more or less glabrous on the back. Leaf-laminae up to 10(20) cm. long, narrowly linear, conduplicate or convolute, fairly rigid, curved or flexuous, with a rather obtuse apex, with somewhat thickened marginal nerves, scabrous or hispidulous above, glabrous and smooth beneath. Panicle variable in shape and size, usually 15 x 5-10 cm., open, ovate to oblong, with several more or less spreading branches having spikelets congested towards the ends, forming often false spikes; axis erect or flexuous, terete, glabrous, smooth below, more or less subangular, scaberulous in the upper part; branches solitary or 2-nate, distant, scaberulous, naked for 1-6 cm. in the lower part. Spikelets greenish, usually tinged with purple. Glumes keeled, subhyaline, 1-nerved; the inferior usually 5-5.5 mm. long, lanceolate, scaberulous on the keel and laterally towards the apex, usually gradually tapering into a short awn c. 0.8-2 mm. long; the superior c. 6.5-8 mm. long, narrowly lanceolate, usually smooth on the keel, awned or deeply 2-fid at the apex with a c. 1 mm. long awn from the sinus and sometimes with well-developed narrow lateral lobes. Lemma 3.5-4.5 mm. long, sometimes mottled with purple, glabrous below, scabrous towards the apex; callus c. 1 mm. long, usually subacute, densely barbate; column of the awns c. 2.5 mm. long, twisted, scaberulous; awns 11-25 mm. long, subequal or the central one somewhat longer up to 30 mm., slender, scaberulous, more or less spreading; articulation between the apex of the column and the base of the awns. |
| Notes: | |
| Derivation of specific name: | |
| Habitat: | In various types of woodland, on grassy hillsides, along roadsides and in disturbed areas, often on sandy soils but also on serpentine soils or shallow black soils on granite kopjies. |
| Flowering time: | |
| Worldwide distribution: | Cape Province, Congo, Kenya, Natal, south-western Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania, Transvaal, Botswana, Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
| Botswana distribution: | SE |
| Growth form(s): | |
| Endemic status: | |
| Red data list status: | |
| Insects associated with this species: | |
| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Isaiah, A.M. & Komi, T. (2015). Grasses in the Botswana National Botanic Garden South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria Page 4. as Aristida congesta subsp. barbicollis (Includes a picture). Launert, E. (1971). Poaceae Flora Zambesiaca 10(1) Pages 129 - 131. (Includes a picture). Mapaura, A. & Timberlake, J. (eds) (2004). A checklist of Zimbabwean vascular plants Southern African Botanical Diversity Network Report No. 33 Sabonet, Pretoria and Harare Page 99. Siebert, S. & Mössmer, M. (Editors) (2002). SABONET Southern Mozambique Expedition 2001; Provisional Plant Checklist of the Maputo Elephant Reserve (MER) and Licuati Forest Reserve (LFR) SABONET News 7(1) Page 27. As Aristida congesta barbicollis |
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