Leptochloa fusca (L.) Kunth.

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Synonyms: Diplachne fusca (L.) P. Beauv. ex Roem. & Schult.
Festuca fusca L.
Common names: Swamp grass (English)
Frequency:
Status: Native
Description:
Aquatic or semi-aquatic rhizomatous perennial up to 200 cm tall, rooting and branching from the lower nodes; ligule a pointed membrane; leaf lamina 25–55 cm × 2–5 mm, tough, linear, involute, greyish-green with a broad white central nerve, tapering to a fine point.Inflorescence 20–35 cm long, compact and cylindrical at first, later more open; racemes numerous, slender, 7–15 cm long, ± straight.Spikelets 6–11-flowered, 8–15 mm long, narrowly elliptic to elliptic, slightly overlapping; glumes unequal, keeled, the inferior 2–4.5 mm long, lanceolate to narrowly lanceolate, acute or acuminate, the superior 3.3–7.5 mm long, narrowly oblong, acute or obtuse and minutely mucronate; lemmas 3.2–5.9 mm long, narrowly oblong, dorsally rounded, pilose on the nerves below, 2- or more toothed at the apex and mucronate or shortly awned.Caryopsis 1.6–1.8 mm long, elliptic-oblong, dorsiventrally flattened.
Notes:
Derivation of specific name: fusca: greyish-brown or dark greyish-brown, fuscous
Habitat: In and beside standing shallow water, in boggy, marshy, alluvial and black peaty soils and in wet sand
Altitude range: (metres) Up to 1280 m
Flowering time:
Worldwide distribution: tropical and subtropical Old World, including Australia
Zimbabwe distribution: N,W,C,E,S
Growth form(s):
Endemic status:
Red data list status:
Insects associated with this species:
Spot characters: Display spot characters for this species
Literature:

Chapano, C. & Mugarisanwa, N.H. (2003). Plants of the Matobo District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 14. As Diplachne fusca

Cope, T.A. (1999). Poaceae Flora Zambesiaca 10(2) Page 25.

Heath, A. & Heath, R. (2009). Field Guide to the Plants of Northern Botswana including the Okavango Delta Kew Publishing Page 438. (Includes a picture).

Jackson, G. & Wiehe, P.O. (1958). An Annotated Check List of Nyasaland Grasses The Government Printer, Zomba, Nyasaland Page 36. As Diplachne fusca

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 106.

Roodt, V. (2015). Grasses & Grazers of Botswana and the surrounding savanna Struik Nature, South Africa Pages 86 - 87. as Diplachne fusca (Includes a picture).

Setshogo, M.P. (2005). Preliminary checklist of the plants of Botswana. Sabonet Report no. 37. Sabonet, Pretoria and Gaborone Page 140.


Other sources of information about Leptochloa fusca:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Leptochloa fusca
Flora of Burundi: Leptochloa fusca
Flora of Caprivi: Leptochloa fusca
Flora of Malawi: Leptochloa fusca
Flora of Mozambique: Leptochloa fusca
Flora of Zambia: Leptochloa fusca

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Leptochloa fusca
African Plant Database: Leptochloa fusca
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Leptochloa fusca
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Leptochloa fusca
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Leptochloa fusca
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Leptochloa fusca
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Leptochloa fusca
JSTOR Plant Science: Leptochloa fusca
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Leptochloa fusca
Plants of the World Online: Leptochloa fusca
Tropicos: Leptochloa fusca
Wikipedia: Leptochloa fusca


Copyright: Mark Hyde, Bart Wursten, Petra Ballings and Meg Coates Palgrave, 2002-24

Hyde, M.A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. & Coates Palgrave, M. (2024). Flora of Zimbabwe: Species information: Leptochloa fusca.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=104500, retrieved 12 October 2024

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