Tent. Fl. Abyss. 2:423 (1851).- Type: Schimper 1386, Ethiopia, Semien (holo- P!, iso- K).
Poa muhavurensis C.E. Hubbard, B.J.B.B. 25: 244 (1955).- Type: Snowden 1481, Uganda (holo- K).
Regional litterature: FTEA Gramineae: 48 (1970); Fl. Zambesiaca 10,1: 50, fig (1971); FTWA: 369 (1972); Gram. Cameroun: 64, fig: 12 (1992); Fl. Ethiopia & Eritrea 7: 22, fig (1995); Pl. Sudan & S Sudan: 143 (2015)
Description:
* Loosely tufted or shortly rhizomatous perennial of 35-90 cm high. Culms slender or often straggling or weakly ascending. Leaves linear or flat, 5-20 cm long and 2-4 mm wide; ligule hyaline, 2-5 mm long.
* Inflorescence an open narrowly oblong panicle of 15-25 cm long, sparsely, often flexuously branched, the lower ones up to 3 cm long, capillary, usually reflexing at maturity.
* Spikelets lanceolate, 2-4-flowered, with the florets loosely imbricate, 3.5-6 mm long. Glumes lanceolate, acute. Lemmas lanceolate in profile, 2.5-4.5 mm long, pilose on the back, with or without a basal tuft of wool, acute. Anthers 0.5-1 mm long.
Distribution West Africa: Nigeria, Cameroon, Sudan, South Sudan
Distribution world-wide: Ethiopia, Uganda, DRC, Congo and C and E Africa, Malawi, Arabic Peninsular.
Note: Usually, P. schimperiana has lax open panicles with often reflexing branches and longer acuminate lemmas whereas P. leptoclada has spiciform panicles with ascending branches and smaller acute lemmas.