Fl. Aegypt.-Arab.: 178 (1775).- Type: Schimper 739, Ethiopia (iso- MO).
Andropogon rhynchophorus Stapf, Mém. Soc. Not. Fr. 8: 101 (1908).- Type: Chevalier 9797, CAR (holo- K);
Sehima kotschyi Hochst., Flora 27: 247 (1844). Type: Kotschy 373, Sudan (iso- K);
Sehima kotschyi var. schangulicum Hochst, Flora 27: 248 (1844).- Type: Kotschy 581, Sudan (K- iso).
Regional litterature: FI. Nigeria: 111 (1970); FTA 9: 37 (1917); FWTA: 476 (1972); FTEA: 750 (1982); Zon, Gram. Cameroun: (1992) ; Fl. Ethiopia & Eritrea 7: 316, fig (1995); Poilecot, Poaceae Niger : 550, fig. (1999) ; Fl. Zambesiaca 10,4: 58 (2002); Pl. Burkina Faso: 112 (2012); Fl. Chad (2013); Pl. Sudan & S Sudan: 145 (2015).
Description:
* Caespitose annual of 0.2-0.6 m high. Culms erect, weak, glabrous. Leaves linear, glaucous, 5-30 cm long and 1-3 mm wide; ligule a ciliated membrane.
* Inflorescence in a solitary spiciform dorsiventral raceme of 3-15 cm long, fragile; rhachis internodes and pedicels ciliate.
* Spikelets oblong-elliptical, 9-15 mm long; callus barbed, obtuse. Lower lemma linear-oblong, coriaceous with a membranous 2-teethed tip, 2 keeled with a deep central groove and the keels ciliated in the upper part; upper glume boat-shaped, with on the tip a ciliated keel ending in a awn of 10-15 mm long. Upper lemma cartilaginose, bilobed and a geniculate awn of 4-7 cm in th sinus; column dark brown, the spirale ciliated. Pedicelled spikelet 7-15 mm long, ciliate, lower glume with a midnerve and 2-3 conspicuous lateral nerves adjacent to each keel.
Distribution West Africa: Cape Verde, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Sudan.
Distribution world-wide: Ethiopia, and NE, E and southern Africa, south-western Asia.