Bull. Soc. Bot. France 58: 221 (1912).- Type: Chevalier 6991, CAR, Ndellé (syn- P,K) & Barter 878, Nigeria (syn- B,K,P).
Regional litterature: FWTA: 400 (1972); FTEA : 342 (1974) ; Ghana grasses: 120 (1977); Gram. Togo: 176 (1983); Gram. Cameroun: 171 (1992); Poac. CI:164, fig. (1995); Poac. Niger: 263 , fig. (1999); Fl. Bénin: 192 (2006); Pl. Burkina Faso: 76 (2012); Fl. Chad (2013); Pl. Sudan & S Sudan: 123 (2015).
Description:
* Coarse robust woody perennial 1-2.5 m tall. Culms cane-like, geniculate to erect, rooting at the lower nodes or sometimes vigorously stoloniferous, to 6 m or more, borne down by floods and become buried in the sand and root at nodes. Leaves long linear, pale glaucous, up to 40 cm long and 8-15 mm broad, glabrous on the upper surface with a broad white midrib, margins and midrib protruding below are scabrid, margins rolling outwards on drying, visible and palpably constricted; base passing directly into sheath; ligule short and membranous, shortly ciliate; sheath glabrous to villous.
* Inflorescence 10-30 long, silky haired greenish-white, digitate or verticellate racemes of 7-15 cm long; axe 0-4 cm long.
* Spikelets with 3 florets, shortly 2-awned. Lower glume 2 mm long; upper glume 3-5 mm. 1st and 2nd lemma with hairs of 2-2.5 mm long at the higher edge, awn 1-3.5 mm long; 2nd lemma linear lanceolate, 2.5-4 mm long, awn 0.5-1.5 mm long; upper lemma reduced; callus rounded, ciliate.
Distribution West Africa: Senegal, Sierra Leone, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan.
Distribution world-wide: Uganda, DRC, Congo, Gabon.