Fl. Trop. Afr. 9: 487 (1919).- Type: Koenig in Hb. Linn. 83-2, India (holo- LINN).
Milium cimicinum Linn., Mat. PI. Alt.: 184 (1771).
Regional litterature: Gram. Cameroun: 258 (1992); FTEA: 617, fig (1982); Fl. Ethiopia & Eritrea 7: 216, fig (1995); Fl. Chad (2013); Pl. Sudan & S Sudan: 117 (2015).
Description:
* Tufted annual of 0.3-1.2 m high. Culms erect or ascending, nodes hairy. Leaves lanceolate, 3-15 cm long and 5-20 mm wide, base amplexicaul, tuberculate-ciliate on the margins.
* Inflorescence of 4-11 racemes, usually in 1 whorl. Racemes 7-25 cm long, the lowest 1/3-1/2 of their length bare of spikelets; spikelets mostly in pairs..
* Spikelets narrowly elliptic-ovate, 3.5-5.5 mm long. Lower glume ½-3/4 as long as spikelet; upper glume subulate-acuminate, cartilaginous, smooth and shining, the margins ciliate with appressed or eventually spreading hairs of 1-2 mm long. Upper lemma with an awn 2-4.5 mm long, the palea papillose with globular hairs.
Distribution West Africa: Liberia, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan, South Sudan.
Distribution world-wide: Ethiopia, Uganda, DRC and Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, and southern Africa, Asia, Australia.