Digitaria

1. Inflorescence of 2 to many racemes, which are usually devoid of spikelets at base, long and rigid 2
Inflorescence of 1 to many racemes, if > 1 usually bearing spikelets at base, not long and rigid 10
   
2. Spikelets up to 3 mm long (excluding protruding hairs if present) 3
Spikelets 3.75-6 mm long 8
   
3. Spikelets woolly-hairy 4
Spikelets glabrous or very slightly hairy 6
   
4. Lower glume absent or to 0.15 mm long D. papposa (NT WA QLD)
Lower glume more than 0.3 mm long 5
   
5. Lower lemma without marginal stiff bristles; spikelets c. 2.5 mm long D. ammophila (NSW VIC NT SA WA QLD)
D. ammophila var. macrolepis
Lower lemma with marginal stiff bristles; spikelets 3-3.5 mm long D. hystrichoides (NSW NT QLD)
   

6.


7.



8.


Spikelets glabrous D. nematostachya (NT WA QLD)
Spikelets  hairy 7
   

Spikelets slightly hairy; lower glume 0.3-0.4 mm long; lower lemma 5-nerved

D. benthamiana (NT QLD)

Spikelets discernibly hairy; lower glume 0.8-0.9 mm long; lower lemma 7-nerved

D. basaltica (QLD)
   
Spikelets 5.2-6.9 mm long; most racemes branched D. porrecta (NSW QLD)
Spikelets 3.8-5.1 mm long; racemes simple  9
   
9. Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Lower lemma hairy and without hollow stiff bristles  D. divaricatissima var.  divaricatissima(NSW VIC NT SA WA QLD)
D. coenicola
Lower lemma hairy and with hollow stiff bristles  D. divaricatissima var. macractinia (QLD)
   
10. Lower lemma with two prominent hair tufts on either side of midrib D. hubbardii (NSW QLD)
D. neurachnoides
Lower lemma without hair tufts 11
   
11. Spikelets with long hairs exceeding spikelet 12
Spikelets glabrous or hairy, if latter then hairs not exceeding spikelet 14
   
12. Annual; inflorescence of 1 raceme D. gibbosa (NT WA QLD)
Perennials; inflorescence of more than 1 raceme 13
   
13. Lower glume 1/4 - 1/2 spikelet length, separated to some degree from upper glume D. brownii (NSW VIC NT SA WA QLD)
D. brownii var. monostachya
Lower glume absent or a minute hyaline rim, adjacent to upper glume D. leucostachya (NSW NT QLD)
   
14. Racemes digitate or subdigitate or inflorescence with a common axis shorter than racemes 15
Racemes usually single on a common axis usually as long as or longer than racemes 34
   
15. Inflorescence with 1-3 racemes 16
Inflorescence usually with 4 or more racemes 28
   
16. Spikelets usually arranged in 3s 17
Spikelets arranged in pairs 21
   

17.


18.

Spikelets usually 2 mm or more in length 18
Spikelets usually less than 2 mm long 20
   
Raceme axes not winged; upper glume the length of the lower lemma *D. oraria (NT QLD)
Raceme axes winged; upper glume shorter than the lower lemma 19
   
19. Pedicels with a ring of rigid hairs at apex *D. ternata (NSW TAS)
Pedicels without a ring of rigid apical hairs *D. ischaemum (NSW VIC SA)
Panicum glabrum
   
20. Plant usually a stoloniferous perennial; upper lemma pale to yellow at maturity; upper glume 5-7-nerved D. longiflora (NSW NT WA QLD)
D. curvipes, D. eriopelis, D. propinqua, D. speciosa
Plant annual; Upper lemma brown to black at maturity; upper glume 3-nerved

*D. violascens (NSW NT SA WA QLD)

D. recta

   

21.


22.

Spikelets heteromorphic, pedicelled spikelets hairy, sometimes also with bristles D. bicornis (NT WA QLD)
D. queenslandica 
Spikelets homomorphic 22
   
 Spikelets with bristles  D. ctenantha (NT SA WA QLD)
D. robusta
 Spikelets without bristles 23  
   

23.



24.



Tufted and erect; lower glume, if present, truncate  24
Creeping; lower glume, if present, acute 25
   
   
Annual, with spikelets only slightly heteromorphic D. stenostachya (NT QLD)
Perennial with short wooly rhizomes and hairy cataphylls; spikelets distinctly heteromophic D. veldkampiana (QLD)
   
25. Mat-forming perennials with cataphylls 26
Loose stoloniferous annuals without cataphylls 27
   
26. Spikelets less than 2.9 mm long; upper glume 1-2.1 mm long *D. didactyla (NSW WA QLD)
Spikelets more than 2.9 mm long; upper glume more than 2.1 mm long *D. aequiglumis (NSW SA WA)
   
27. Spikelets 0.6-0.7 mm wide; lower glume absent or less than 0.2 mm long D. radicosa (QLD)
D. timorensis
Spikelets 0.7-1.1 mm wide; lower glume 0.2-0.8 mm long *D. ciliaris (NSW TAS VIC NT SA WA QLD)
D. adscendens
   
28. Spikelets less than 2 mm long *D. violascens (NSW NT SA WA QLD)
Spikelets more than 2 mm long 29
   
29. Perennials 30
Annuals 31
   
30. Nerves of lower lemma with minute spines *D. milanjiana (QLD) 
Nerves of lower lemma smooth *D. eriantha (WA QLD)
   
31. Spikelets of each spikelet pair different or similar and bristled D. bicornis (NT WA QLD)
D. queenslandica
Spikelets of each pair similar and not bristled 32
   
32. Upper glume less than 1/4 spikelet length D. setigera (NT QLD)
D. pruriens
Upper glume at least 1/2 spikelet length 33
   

33.



34.

Nerves of lower lemma with minute spines *D. sanguinalis (NSW VIC TAS SA WA QLD)
Nerves of lower lemma smooth *D. ciliaris (NSW VIC TAS NT SA WA QLD)
D. adscendens
   
Racemes usually single D. sharpeana (QLD)
Racemes digitate 35
   
35. Upper glume less than 1/2 spikelet length 36
Upper glume more than 1/2 spikelet length 40
   
36. Lower lemma c. 1/2 as long as spikelet D. blakei (QLD)
Lower lemma ± as long as spikelet 37
   
37. Inflorescence with few branches, sometimes 1  38
Inflorescence with many branches, at least 8 39
   
38.

Inflorescence with 1-4 branches; lower lemma 5 nerved; upper glume nerveless;leaf blades glabrous to slightly hairy; sometimes with many culm branches fascicled at nodes

D. breviglumis (NT QLD)
Inflorescence with at least 4 branches; lower lemma 7 nerved; upper glume 3 nerved; leaf blades sometimes velverty;  culm branches never fascicled at nodes D. diminuta (NSW  QLD)
 
   

39.


40.

Lower glume absent D. orbata (QLD)
Lower glume present D. fumida (QLD)
   
Spikelets glabrous 41
Spikelets hairy 45
   
41. Upper lemma relatively smooth and reflective 42
Upper lemma muricate and non-reflective 43
   
42. Spikelets 1.8-2 mm long; plants forming a thick stoloniferous sward *D. abyssinica (QLD)
Spikelets c. 1.5 mm long; plant not sward-forming D. diffusa (NSW VIC QLD)
   
43. Spikelets 1.2-1.5 mm long; habit decumbent D. minima (QLD)
Spikelets from 1.6 mm long; habit erect 44
   
44. Upper glume 1/2-4/5 spikelet length D. ramularis (NSW QLD)
D. tenuissima
Upper glume subequal to spikelet length D. parviflora (NSW QLD)
   
45. Lowermost raceme commonly exceeding 9 cm; leaf-margins bearing distinct spicules D. lanceolata (QLD)
Lowermost raceme branch not exceeding 9 cm; leaf-margins without distinct spicules 46
   

46.


47.



48.


49.



Spikelets with short brown hairs, forming a web  47
Spikelet hairs shorter, not forming a web  48
   
Spikelets 2-2.3 mm long D. dolleryi (QLD)
Spikelets 2.5-3.5 mm long D. imbricata (QLD)  
   
Spikelets 2.4-2.5 mm long D. baileyii (QLD)
Spikelets up to 2 mm long  49
   
Spikelets 20-24 on a typical lowermost primary inflorescence branch; upper glume 5-nerved D. cowiei (QLD)
Spikelets 40-80 on a typical lowermost primary inflorescence branch; upper glume 3-nerved D. velutina (QLD)

Key to Digitaria derived from Henrard 1950; Webster 1983, 1987, Simon 2010

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <!--[if gte mso 10]> D. benthamiana (NT QLD)
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith