Eleusine africana Kenn.-O'Byrne

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Eleusine africana

Photo: Petra Ballings
Old hotel building site, nr Castleburn, Vumba.

Eleusine africana

Photo: Petra Ballings
Old hotel building site, nr Castleburn, Vumba.

Eleusine africana

Photo: Petra Ballings
Old hotel building site, nr Castleburn, Vumba.

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Synonyms: Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. subsp. africana (Kenn.-O'Byrne) Hilu & de Wet
Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn. subsp. africana (Kenn.-O'Byrne) S.M. Phillips
Common names: Goose grass (English) Jongosgras (Afrikaans) Osgras (Afrikaans) Rapoko (English)
Frequency:
Status: Native
Description:
Caespitose annual; culms robust, up to 100 cm tall, erect or geniculately ascending, often branching from the lower nodes; ligule with a definite ciliate fringe; leaf laminas 5–35 cm × 3–6 mm, usually folded.Racemes 3–17, 3.5–15.5 cm × 4–7 mm.Spikelets 4.6–7.8 mm long, elliptic; glumes acute, the inferior 2–3.2(3.9) mm long, often 2–3-nerved, the superior 3–4.7 mm long; lemmas 3.7–4.9 mm long, lanceolate in profile, acute to subacute.Caryopsis 1.2–1.6 mm long, oblong to broadly oblong, the surface uniformly granular and obliquely ridged.
Notes: Robust, tufted annual grass, up to 1 m tall. Inflorescence of 3-17 subdigitate racemes. Spikelets 4.5-8 mm long, elliptic, with acute glume.
Derivation of specific name: africana: African
Habitat: Growing in damp sandy soils near rivers, dams and roadsides. Also as a weed of disturbed and cultivated areas.
Altitude range: (metres) 1490 - 1910 m
Flowering time:Mainly Aug - May
Worldwide distribution: Africa, mainly in eastern and southern uplands, and Arabia
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
Images last updated: Tuesday 14 August 2007
Literature:

Chapano, C. & Mugarisanwa, N.H. (2003). Plants of the Matobo District National Herbarium and Botanic Garden, Zimbabwe Page 15. As Eleusine coracana africana

Cope, T.A. (1999). Poaceae Flora Zambesiaca 10(2) Pages 158 - 159.

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 103.

Roodt, V. (2015). Grasses & Grazers of Botswana and the surrounding savanna Struik Nature, South Africa Pages 90 - 91. as Eleusine coracana africana (Includes a picture).

Timberlake, J.R. & Childes, S.L. (2004). Biodiversity of the Four Corners Area: Technical Reviews Volume Two (Chapter 5-15) Appendix 5-1: Plant Checklist Occasional Publications in Biodiversity 15 Page 188.


Other sources of information about Eleusine africana:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Eleusine africana
Flora of Caprivi: Eleusine africana
Flora of Caprivi: cultivated Eleusine africana
Flora of Malawi: Eleusine africana
Flora of Mozambique: Eleusine africana
Flora of Zambia: Eleusine africana

External websites:

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


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: Eleusine africana.
https://www.zimbabweflora.co.zw/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=164410, retrieved 19 March 2024

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