Fruct. 1: 8 (1789).- Type: illustr. in Burman, Thes. Zeyl.: 106, t. 47/1 (1737) ; van Royen s.n., s.l. (lecto- L).
Cynosurus indicus Linn., Sp. Pl.: 72 (1753);
Eleusine glabra Schumach., Beskr. Guin. Pl. 53 (1827).- Type: Thonning 273, Ghana (holo- C).
Regional litterature: FI. Gabon 5: 231, tab. 38 (1962); FI. Nigeria: 31 (1970); FWTA: 395, fig. 432 (1972); FTEA Gramineae: 262 (1974); Ghana grasses: 142, fig. 32 (1977); Gram. Togo: 204, fig (1983); Fl. Mauritania: 416, fig (1991); Gram. Cameroun: 142, fig. 30 (1992); Poac. CI: 148, fig. (1995); Pl. Mauritanie: 286 (1998); Poac. Niger: 235, fig. (1999); Fl. Zambesiaca 10,2: 156, fig (1999); Fl. Bénin: 202 (2006); Pl. Vasc. Guiné-Bissau: 166 (2006); Fl. Guinea Bissau: 136 (2008); Fl. Guinée: 457 (2009); Pl. Burkina Faso: 83 (2012); Fl. Chad (2013); Fl. Ethiopia & Eritrea 7: 141, fig (1995); Pl. Sudan & S Sudan: 128 (2015).
Description:
* Erect, loosely tufted annual bunchgrass up to 0.6 m high; culms slender, usually branching from the base. Leaves linear, folded and keeled, glabrous or very sparsely hairy, 5-35 cm long and 3-6 mm broad, with smooth or very slightly scabrid margins; base scarcely rounded and passing almost directly into the sheath, with a white collar; ligule membranous, at most sparsely ciliate; sheath strongly compressed, especially the basal ones, keeled, usually usually glabrous. Culms distinctly compressed overall, branching near the base. Roots dense, strong.
* Inflorescence terminal with 1-10 subdigitate, stiff, flattened racemes. Racemes ascending, greenish, 3-15 cm long with the spikelets arranged on one side of the rhachis; glumes and rachis persisting as a ‘herringbone’.
* Spikelets elliptical, 3-9-flowered, disarticulating between the florets, 3-5 mm long, green or brownish green. Glumes obtuse to sub acute; lower glume 1-3 mm, the upper one 2-3 mm long, small additional nerves in the thickened keel. Lemmas lanceolate, obtuse to acute, 2-3 mm long, small additional nerves in the keel. Caryopsis elliptic, 1-1.3 mm long, obliquely striate with fine lines between the striae.
Distribution West Africa: Cape Verde, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Mali, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, CAR, Chad, South Sudan.
Distribution world-wide: Ethiopia, Uganda, DRC, Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea and C, E and southern Africa, Asia; introduced in Morocco, Algeria, Lybia, Egypt, southern Europe, Australia and the Americas.