Cent. Pl. I: 5 (1755).
Anisantha rubens (Linn.) Nevski, Gosud. Univ., Ser. 8b, Bot. 17: 19 (1934).
Regional litterature: Fl. Sahara: 185 (1977).
Description:
* Annual of 10-40 cm high, becoming red at maturity; culms solitary or caespitose, slightly hairy. Leaves 2-12 cm long and 3.5-6 mm wide, hirsute on both sides; sheaths hirsute; ligule an eciliate membrane.
* Inflorescence a dense contracted obovate panicle of 5-10 cm long and 2-5 cm wide; peduncle and branches pubescent above.
* Spikelets with 4-8 fertile florets, 15-30 mm long and 2-6 mm wide. Glumes persistent; lower glume linear, 5-9 mm long, membranous, much thinner on the margins, keelless, 1-veined, acute; upper glume lanceolate, 7-13.5 mm long, membranous with hyaline margins, keel-less, 3-veined. Lemmas divergent, elliptic, 10-17 mm long and 2-3 mm wide, chartaceous, without keels, 5-7-veined, lateral veins distinct, glabrous or pilose, apex dentate, 2-fid with lobes of 2-3 mm long and an subapical straight awn of 7-23 mm long; palea keels ciliate.
Distribution West Africa: Chad.
Distribution world-wide: Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Tunesia, Libya, Egypt, southern Europe, W Asia; introduced in Australia and the Americas.