Mém. Acad. Imp. Sci. St-Pétersbourg, Sér. 6, Sci. Math. 1: 398 (1830).- Type: Thunberg s.n.,Cape, South Africa.
Poa sarmentosa Trin., Prod. Pl. Cap.: 21 (1794).
Regional litterature: Fl Zambesiaca: 128 (1999); Fl. Chad (2013).
Description:
* Mat-forming perennial up to 0.5 m high, with rhizomes and often with long stolons. Culms erect or ascending, often decumbent and rooting at the nodes, unbranched, glabrous at the nodes. Leaves flat, 2.5-10 cm long and 1.5-4.5 mm wide, glabrous; ligule a line of hairs; sheaths glabrous, chartaceous.
* Inflorescence a linear panicle of 6-15 cm long, the short distant branches appressed to the axis, the spikelets densely contracted about them on pedicels up to 1 mm long, the primary branches not in whorls, terminating in a fertile spikelet, glabrous in the axils, eglandular.
* Spikelets narrowly oblong 3-7 mm long and 1.3-1.7 mm wide, 10-14-flowered, the rhachilla persistent below but often fragile above. Glumes unequal, keeled, lanceolate in profile, glabrous, acute or subacute at the apex; lower glume 0.6-0.8 mm long; upper glume1.1-1.4 mm long. Lemmas 1.3-1.5 mm long, keeled, narrowly ovate in profile, appressed to the rhachilla, those in opposite rows imbricate and concealing the rhachilla, greyish-green or purple-tinged, glabrous; rhachilla retaining paleas. Anthers 3, 0.2-0.3 mm long. Caryopsis 0.5-0.6 mm long, ellipsoid to ovoid.
Distribution West Africa: Chad (Tibesti).
Distribution world-wide: Egypt, southern Africa.