FTA: 377 (1919).- Type: Barter 957, Nigeria (holo- K, iso- P).
Hyparrhenia notolasia Stapf, FTA 9: 377 (1919).- Type: Dalziel 299, Nigeria (syn- K); Macleod s.n, CAR (syn- BM).
Regional litterature: Ghana grasses: 162 (1977); FI. Nigeria: 97 (1970); FWTA: 496 (1972); Gram. Togo: 232 (1983); Gram. Cameroun: 492 (1992); Poaceae Niger : 609, fig. (1999); Fl. Bénin: 210 (2006); Pl. Burkina Faso: 91 (2012); Fl. Chad (2013).
Description:
* Coarse erect annual of 0.5-3 m high. Culms erect, robust, yellow to pink, rather soft and easily crushe; nodes dark, glabrous or bearded; often prop- rooted from the lower nodes. Leaves long linear, 20-70 cm long and 5-20 mm wide, flaccid, light green, flat with a broad white midrib, sometimes hairy, with scabrid margins tending to roll outwards on drying; base slightly rounded, sometimes hairy; ligule membranous, densely fringed with hairs, 1-2 mm long; sheath glabrous. Roots poorly developed in a rather fine fibrous mat.
* Inflorescence in an open panicle of 20-60 cm long, on numerous flowering branches from the upper culm bearing many short paired racemes barely excerted from the long conspicuous papery pink spatheoles. Spatheoles lanceolate, 4-8.5 cm long, peduncle 2-3 cm long, glabrous, sometimes bearded above. Racemes deflexed, 1.5-3.0 cm long, bearing 2 fertile spikelets on each; rachis fragile, ciliate on margins with linear internodes; raceme-bases flattened, sub equal, 1.5-2 mm long, pubescent. Homogamous spikelets two pairs on both racemes, forming involucres.
* Sessile spikelets lanceolate, 7-8 mm long, callus linear, 2-2.5 mm long, pubescent, pungent. Lower glume lanceolate, as long as spikelet, coriaceous, glabrous to pubescent; upper glume linear, coriaceous. Lower lemma lanceolate, as long as spikelet, hyaline, 2 -veined; upper lemma linear, membranous, 1 -veined, 2 -fid with lemma geniculate awn from sinus, 7-11 cm long with twisted hirsute column with 0.5-1 mm long yellow hairs. Pedicelled spikelets lanceolate, 7-11 mm long; glumes acute, awned with 6 -22 mm long awn. Homogamous spikelets 7-15 mm long; glumes scabrous or ciliate on margins, awnless.
Key to varieties:
1- Pedicelled spikelet with an awn of 8-20 mm; 4 awns per raceme-pair; base spatheole and ray glabrous or bearded. var. involucrata
1'.Pedicelled spikelet with an awn 1-5 mm long; 2 (- 4) awns per raceme-pair; base, spatheole and ray pilose. var. breviseta
Distribution West Africa: Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, CAR, Chad.
Distribution world-wide: Congo.