Aristida diffusa Trin.

Species

Angiosperms > Poales > Poaceae > Aristida

Characteristics

Slender, densely tufted, erect perennial, up to 1 m high; culms 1.5-3.0 mm in diam., unbranched or sparsely branched. Leaf blade up to 300 x 2 mm; leaf auricles glabrous or short-hairy, not woolly; ligule a dense fringe of hairs. Inflorescence an open panicle, spikelets distant from one another. Spikelet 25-45 mm long (including awns), disarticulating above glumes; lower glume obtuse, occasionally coarsely fimbriate at apex, 1/2-2/3 length of upper glume, mucro or awn absent; upper glume 12-18 mm long. Floret 1; lemma articulation present between apex of lemma and base of column, or absent; 3-awned; awns glabrous, column present; callus tip naked, deeply bifid. Flowering time Oct.-Apr.
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Lemma 9-13 mm. long, smooth, or slightly scaberulous towards the apex; callus c. 1 mm. long, 2-fid, barbate; column 2-6 mm. long, slightly twisted; awns fine, subequal, scabrous, the central awn up to 23-25 mm. long, the later ones 20-30 mm. long; articulation between the apex of the lemma and the base of the column.
Glumes unequal, rather firm, 1-nerved, glabrous, obtuse or slightly emarginate with a glabrous keel; the inferior 4-9 mm. long, fairly broad, obtuse; the superior 10-17 mm. long, narrow, with a subacute but slightly 2-fid apex.
Panicle up to 30 cm. long, or longer, lax, open, with a smooth axis; branches c. 15 cm. long, 2-or 3-nate, filiform or capillary, more or less spreading, remote, flexuous, scaberulous or smooth.
Leaf-laminae up to 30 x 0·25-3 cm., involute, setaceous, curved or flexuous, the upper exceeding the panicle, scaberulous or hispidulous above, smooth beneath.
Perennial to 1 m. Leaves linear. Spikelets in an open panicle, 25-45 mm long, lower glume obtuse, lemmas sometimes articulated above.
Culms erect, slender, simple or rarely branched, glabrous, 1-to several-noded; nodes glabrous.
Spikelets yellowish, yellowish-brown to purple, purplish-brown, suberect to nodding.
Ligule a short-ciliate rim; auricles pubescent or glabrous; collar glabrous.
Perennial, up to 75 cm. high, densely to laxly caespitose.
Leaf-sheaths firm, glabrous, or the lower densely woolly.
Life form perennial
Growth form herb
Growth support free-standing
Foliage retention deciduous
Sexuality hermaphrodite
Pollination -
Spread -
Mature width (meter) -
Mature height (meter) 0.75
Root system -
Rooting depth (meter) -
Root diameter (meter) -
Flower color -
Blooming months -
Fruit color -
Fruiting months -
Nitrogen fixer -
Photosynthetic pathway -

Environment

Light -
Soil humidity 1-3
Soil texture 5-7
Soil acidity -
Soil nutriment -
Hardiness (USDA) 8-12

Usage

Uses medicinal
Edible -
Therapeutic use -
Human toxicity -
Animal toxicity -

Cultivation

Mode -
Germination duration (days) -
Germination temperacture (C°) -
Germination luminosity -
Germination treatment -
Minimum temperature (C°) -
Optimum temperature (C°) -
Size -
Vigor -
Productivity -

Images

Aristida diffusa unspecified picture

Distribution

Aristida diffusa world distribution map, present in Lesotho, South Africa, and Zimbabwe

Identifiers

LSID urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:389370-1
WFO ID wfo-0000848732
COL ID GNW2
BDTFX ID -
INPN ID -
Wikipedia (EN)
Wikipedia (FR)

Synonyms

Aristida burkei Aristida pseudohystrix Aristida diffusa subsp. burkei Aristida diffusa var. brevistipitata Aristida diffusa var. burkei Aristida diffusa var. densa Aristida diffusa var. eckloniana Aristida diffusa var. pseudohystrix Aristida diffusa var. schraderiana Aristida vestita var. brevistipitata Aristida vestita var. densa Aristida vestita var. diffusa Aristida vestita var. eckloniana Aristida vestita var. pseudohystrix Aristida vestita var. schraderiana Aristida diffusa subsp. diffusa Aristida diffusa