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Digitaria setigera

(East Indian Crabgrass)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Chinese:

Gang Mao Ma Tang

Common Names in English:

East Indian Crabgrass, Bristly Crabgrass

Common Names in Japanese:

Inume Hishiba

Description

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Genus Digitaria

Annual or perennial . Culms erect or decumbent , occasionally stoloniferous . Leaf blades linear or linear-lanceolate; ligule membranous. Inflorescence of digitately arranged racemes , sometimes on a short axis or with secondary branchlets , very rarely paniculate ; spikelets usually in groups of 2-3(-4), imbricate to effuse, the latter often on notably long and unequal pedicels. Spikelets puberulous to villous , typically in stripes between the well-defined veins, rarely glabrous ; lower glume absent or reduced to a little scale up to 1/4 spikelet length; upper glume variable; lower lemma usually ± equal to spikelet; upper floret pallid to black, apex subacute to acuminate, rarely apiculate . x = 9.

About 250 species:tropical and warm-temperate regions of the world; 22 species (three endemic) in China.

Digitaria has been traditionally divided on the nature of the spikelet hairs, which may be clavate , capitate, verrucose (warty, appearing beaded), or with crooked tips . As good magnification is required to see these features, the grouping of the spikelets on the raceme is a more practical aid to identification. Many species have regularly paired spikelets, which present no difficulty. In those species where the spikelets are grouped in clusters of 3 or more, care must be taken, as often the longest pedicel of a group is partially fused to the rachis so that the spikelets appear alternately paired and single, or sometimes one spikelet may be vestigial, or the spikelets may be paired toward the raceme tips.

Many species are very variable in spikelet pubescence and lemma nervation, even within a single raceme. Additionally, there are a number of complexes of intergrading species, so intermediates may occasionally be encountered. This has led to the publication of many superfluous names .[1]

Physical Description

Species Digitaria setigera

Annual . Culms tufted , decumbent , branching and rooting at lower nodes, 30-100 cm tall. Leaf sheaths glabrous or papillose-pilose; leaf blades linear-lanceolate, 5-20 × 0.3-1 cm, glabrous on both surfaces, papillose-pilose at base , base subrounded, apex acuminate; ligule 1-2 mm. Inflorescence digitate or subdigitate, axis 1-4 cm; racemes 5-12, stiff, 5-15 cm; spikelets paired , imbricate by about 2/3 their length ; rachis triquetrous , narrowly winged , ca. 0.6 mm broad, margins scabrous . Spikelets narrowly lanceolate-oblong, 2-2.5(-3) mm, acute; lower glume absent or a minute rim ; upper glume up to 1/3 as long as spikelet, 1-3-veined, margins ciliate , apex villous with overtopping hairs ; lower lemma as long as spikelet, 5-7-veined, veins evenly spaced or with a wider interspace flanking the midvein , lateral intervein spaces and margins appressed pubescent to villous, rarely ciliate or setose ; upper lemma yellowish to gray, subequaling lower lemma, acuminate. Fl. and fr. Jun-Nov. 2n = 27, 36, 54, 72. [source]

This coarse , weedy species is widespread in warm parts of Asia. Spikelet pubescence is very variable, as in most members of the complex around Digitaria ciliaris, but the species can be readily distinguished by the lack of a lower glume and the presence of only a very short upper glume. [source]

Specimens have sometimes been misidentified as Digitaria corymbosa Merrill. True D. corymbosa is a synonym of D. compacta (Roemer & Schultes) Veldkamp from India. [source]

Habit: Graminoid

Habitat

Moist slopes , stream banks, roadsides and weedy places[2].

Biology

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Reproduction

Duration: Annual , Perennial

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

D. microstachya Henrard • D. pruriens (Fischer Ex Trinius) Buse • D. sanguinalis (Linnaeus) Scopoli Var. pruriens (Fischer Ex Trinius) Prain • Digitaria hainanensis Hitchcock Ex Keng • Digitaria micro-bachne (J. Presl) Henrard • Digitaria pruriens (Fisch. Ex Trin.) Büse • Digitaria pruriens var. microbachne (J. Presl) Fosberg • P. pruriens Fischer Ex Trinius • P. san-guinale Linnaeus var. microbachne (J. Presl) Hackel • Panicum microbachne J. Presl • Syn-therisma microbachne (J. Presl) Hitchcock.

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 15-Mar-2000

Similar Species

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Members of the genus Digitaria

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 53 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus:

D. abyssinica (African Couchgrass) · D. arenicola (Fall Witchgrass) · D. argillacea (Tropical Crabgrass) · D. bicornis (Asia Crabgrass) · D. californica (Arizona Cottontop) · D. ciliaris (Fingergrass) · D. cognata (Carolina Cottontop) · D. cognata var. cognata (Carolina Crabgrass) · D. cognata var. pubiflora (Carolina Crabgrass) · D. cruciata (Crabgrass) · D. diagonalis (Brown-Seeded Finger Grass) · D. didactyla (Crabgrass) · D. dolichophylla (Caribbean Crabgrass) · D. eggersii (Eggers' Crabgrass) · D. eriantha (Pangola Grass) · D. eriantha subsp. eriantha (Crabgrass) · D. eriantha subsp. pentzii (Woolly Fingergrass) · D. exilis (Fonio) · D. filiformis (Slender Crabgrass) · D. floridana (Florida Crabgrass) · D. fuscescens (Yellow Crabgrass) · D. gracillima (Long-Leaf Crabgrass) · D. henryi (Henry´s Crabgrass) · D. hitchcockii (Short-Leaf Crabgrass) · D. horizontalis (Jamaica Crabgrass) · D. iburua (Black Fonio) · D. insularis (Sourgrass) · D. ischaemum (Small Crabgrass) · D. ischaemum var. ischaemum (Small Crabgrass) · D. longiflora (India Crabgrass) · D. milanjiana (Madagascar Crabgrass) · D. natalensis (Natal Crabgrass) · D. nuda (Naked Crabgrass) · D. panicea (Millet Crabgrass) · D. patens (Texas Cottontop) · D. pauciflora (Florida Pineland Crabgrass) · D. pubiflora (Carolina Crabgrass) · D. radicosa (Trailing Crabgrass) · D. sanguinalis (Crabgrass) · D. seriata (Crabgrass) · D. serotina (Blanket Crabgrass) · D. setigera (East Indian Crabgrass) · D. setivalva (Crabgrass) · D. similis (Roadside Crabgrass) · D. simpsonii (Isle-Of-Pines Crabgrass) · D. swalleniana (Swallen's Crabgrass) · D. ternata (Black-Seeded Crabgrass) · D. texana (Texas Crabgrass) · D. tomentosa (Woolly Crabgrass) · D. umfolozi (Crabgrass) · D. velutina (Annual Couchgrass) · D. villosa (Shaggy Crabgrass) · D. violascens (Violet Crabgrass)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal February 28, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Shou-liang Chen & Sylvia M. Phillips "Digitaria". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 1, 500, 539. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
  2. "Digitaria setigera". in Flora of China Vol. 22 Page 540, 542, 543. Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org. [back]
Last Revised: 7/15/2012