Digitaria breviglumis (Domin) Henrard, Monogr. Digitaria: 92 (1950)
Panicum
breviglume Domin, Biblioth.
Bot. 85: 298 (1915). T: Queensland,
NORTH KENNEDY DISTRICT: Dividing Range, west of Pentland, February 1910, K.Domin
[1058, 1059] (holo:
PR [photos BRI]; iso: BRI, K [photo BRI].
Digitaria sp. (Mt.
Mulligan J.R.Clarkson
5821) (Simon 1994:255; 1997:158, 2002:152; Simon et al. 2007 : 153).
Illustrations: Henrard
(1950: 93); Tothill & Hacker (1983: 194, fig 4).
Perennial,
rhizomatous. Flowering culms caespitose, 30–60 cm tall, 5–7-noded. Leaves:
sheaths glabrous; ligule 0.3–0.5 mm long; blades flat or involute (mostly),
2.5–7.5 cm long, 0.5–0.8 mm wide, glabrous, smooth to scabrous. Inflorescence
2–10 cm long, on a distinct central axis or consisting of a single raceme,
exerted at maturity; racemes 1–4,
usually bearing spikelets to base, 1.5–2 cm long; central axis 0.5–1 cm long.
Pedicels 0.6–2.8 mm long. Spikelets 10–15 on a typical lowermost primary
branch, glabrous, paired, elliptic, 1.3–1.6 mm long, 0.5–0.6 mm wide. Glumes 2,
slightly unequal; lower glume 0.2–0.4 mm long, obovate, nerveless, membranous,
smooth, glabrous, truncate; upper glume 0.3–0.5 mm long, ovate, nerveless,
glabrous, truncate. Lower floret; lemma 1.3–1.6 mm long, glabrous, 5- nerved, with nerves distinct; palea
absent. Upper floret subequal to the lower floret; lemma 1.3–1.5 mm long, brown
to black, cartilaginous, very finely transversely rugose, elliptic, acute,
muticous.
Additional specimens examined: Northern Territory: DARWIN & GULF: McMinns Bluff, near Pine
Creek, Jan 1991, Cowie 1476 & Dunlop (BRI, CANB, DNA, MEL, PERTH); BARKLY
TABLELEAND: Border Water hole, July 1971, Latz 1628 (BRI, CANB). Queensland: COOK DISTRICT: Mt Mulligan,
Apr 1985, Clarkson 5869 (BRI, MEL, NSW, L, PERTH, QRS); BURKE DISTRICT: 39.5
km N of Musselbrook, May 1995, Johnson MRS835 &.Thomas (BRI, K); SOUTH
KENNEDY DISTRICT: 16.5 km NNE of Yarrowmere, Apr 1992, Thompson BUC647
&.Simon (AD, BRI, CANB, NSW); MITCHELL DISTRICT: 67 km NE of Aramac,
Mar 2000, Thompson MUT123 (BRI);
LEICHHARDT DISTRICT: Snake Range National Park, SW of Springsure, May 1995, McKosker
111 (BRI).
Distribution and
habitat: Tropical Northern Territory
and Queensland
(Map 6). It grows in a range of mixed
Eucalyptus, Corymbia, Acacia and Melaleuca woodlands on sandstone and
skeletal soils.
Phenology: Flowering
January to August; also October.
Notes: D. breviglumis is distinguished on the basis of its
usually incurved and terete leaves and an inflorescence of one to many racemes
in which the spikelets have a unique brown to black colour of the upper floret.
The leaves can sometime be very narrow and filiform and the branches fascicled
at the nodes.
