Bothalia 1: 249 (1923).- Type: Drège s.n., 1846, South Africa (syn- P, isosyn- K).
Andropogon dregeanus Nees, Fl. Afr. Austr. 1: 112 (1841);
Hyparrhenia elongata Stapf, FTA 9: 343 (1918).- Type: Schimper 1006, Ethiopia (lecto- K);
Hyparrhenia phyllopoda, FTA 9: 346 (1918).- Type: Drake-Brockman 151, 152, Ethiopia (syn- K).
Regional litterature: FTEA: 809 (1982); Fl. Ethiopia & Eritrea 7: 346, fig. (1995); Pl. Sudan & S Sudan: 133 (2015).
Description:
* Robust, densely caespitose perennial of 1.5-2 m high or more with silky pubescent basal leaf-sheaths. Culms simple or scantily branched, up to 4 mm diameter at the base. Leaves up to 60 cm long and 3-8 mm wide, stiff, glaucous, glabrous and scaberulous on the nerves, sometimes narrow and rolled and/or soft and green; ligule rounded, up to 4 mm long; sheaths glabrous.
* Inflorescence a narrow, fairly dense spathate panicle of 20-50 cm long. Spatheoles narrowly lanceolate, 2.5-5 cm long, glabrous or weakly hirsute, rarely the panicle copiously villous, becoming reddish brown; peduncles 1.5-5 cm long, ½ to longer than spatheole, pilose towards the tip with yellowish. Racemes tardily defelexed, 2-3 cm long, 10-25 awned per pair, densely spicate with internodes 1.5-2 mm long, glabrescent to villous, usually excerted terminally.bases subequal, the upper 1-1.5 mm long, the tip with a scarious rim and usually an oblong appendage of up to 0.5 mm long. One pair of homogamous spikelets at the base of the lower raceme only.
* Sessile spikelets 4 -5.5 mm long, densely villous to hispidulous, rarely glabrous, yellowish green to light brown or purple; callus cuneate, subacute to narrowly obtuse, 1 mm long. Upper lemma bifid with a geniculate awn from the sinus; awn 8-20 (1-28) mm long. Pedicelled spikelets 5-6 mm long, similar to sessile spikelets, muticous or a short awn up to 1.5 mm long. Homogamous spikelets similar, 5-7 mm long.
Distribution West Africa and world-wide: Cameroon, Sudan, South Sudan.
Distribution world-wide: Ethiopia, Uganda, NE, E and southern Africa.