| Home | > | List of families | > | Poaceae | > | Cynodon | > | aethiopicus |
| Synonyms: | |
| Common names: | |
| Frequency: | |
| Status: | Native |
| Description: |
Coarse stoloniferous perennial without rhizomes; stolons stout; culms very robust, up to 130 cm tall, hard, shining and woody at the base, erect; leaf laminas 5–20 cm × 3–7 mm, flat.Racemes 6–17 in 2–5 (rarely 1) whorls, 6–11 cm long.Spikelets 2.4–2.8 mm long, strongly pigmented with red or purple; glumes narrowly lanceolate in profile, the superior c. 3/4 as long as the spikelet; lemma glabrous, thinly pubescent or occasionally pilose on the keel. |
| Notes: | |
| Derivation of specific name: | aethiopicus: of Ethiopia, a historic name for large parts of Africa |
| Habitat: | Occurs as a wild plant on moist soils of high rainfall areas, or as a semi-aquatic, but is widely planted on embankments etc. to control soil erosion. Several specimens seen from the central province of Zimbabwe were probably introduced there |
| Flowering time: | |
| Worldwide distribution: | Mainly in the Rift Valley, from Ethiopia southwards, Botswana, Malawi, 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: |
Cope, T.A. (1999). Poaceae Flora Zambesiaca 10(2) Pages 235 - 237. 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 102. Setshogo, M.P. (2005). Preliminary checklist of the plants of Botswana. Sabonet Report no. 37. Sabonet, Pretoria and Gaborone Page 133. |
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