Poaceae
Eragrostis

Eragrostis barrelieri Daveau

First published in J. Bot. (Morot) 8: 289 (1894)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Macaronesia to Arabian Peninsula, Medit. to Pakistan. It is an annual and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome. It is used as animal food and for food.

Descriptions

Gramineae, T. Cope. Flora Zambesiaca 10:2. 1999

Morphology General Habit
Loosely caespitose annual; culms up to 40(60) cm tall, erect or ascending, branched or unbranched, glabrous at the nodes, with or without glandular pits below the nodes, these often coalescent into a ring; leaf sheaths glabrous, eglandular; ligule a line of hairs; leaf laminas 3–13 cm × 2.5–3.5 mm, linear, flat or involute, glabrous, eglandular.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Panicle 7–16 cm long, oblong to ovate-oblong, open, stiffly branched, the spikelets evenly distributed on pedicels 1–3 mm long, these with one or two crateriform glands, the primary branches not in whorls, terminating in a fertile spikelet, glabrous in the axils.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 5–7(15) × 1.5–1.8 mm, narrowly oblong to linear, laterally compressed, 9–12(25)-flowered, the lemmas disarticulating from below upwards, the rhachilla persistent; glumes unequal, keeled, lanceolate in profile, scaberulous on the keel, eglandular, acute at the apex, the inferior 0.8–1.5 mm long, reaching to between 1/2 and 3/4 the way along the adjacent lemma, the superior 1.3–2.1 mm long, reaching to about the middle of the adjacent lemma; lemmas 1.7–2.3 mm long, keeled, oblong-lanceolate in profile, chartaceous with distinct lateral nerves, diverging from the rhachilla at less than 45°, those in opposite rows scarcely imbricate, the rhachilla ± visible between them, green to leaden-grey or reddish, scaberulous on the keel, eglandular, obtuse at the apex; palea persistent, glabrous on the flanks, the keels slender, wingless, scaberulous; anthers 3, 0.2–0.3 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis 0.6–1 mm long, elliptic-oblong, very rarely shorter and broader.
[FZ]

Morphology General Habit
Annual; caespitose. Culms geniculately ascending; 5-50(-80) cm long. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades flat, or involute; 2-10 cm long; 2-5.5 mm wide; glaucous. Leaf-blade margins eglandular.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; lanceolate, or oblong; 3-20 cm long. Primary panicle branches bearing spikelets almost to the base. Panicle branches stiff; glandular. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels glandular.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 5-30 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong; laterally compressed; 5-20 mm long; 1.3-2 mm wide; breaking up at maturity; rhachilla persistent; retaining paleas.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 5-30 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong; laterally compressed; 5-20 mm long; 1.3-2 mm wide; breaking up at maturity; rhachilla persistent; retaining paleas.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes deciduous; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; 0.9-1.3 mm long; 0.5-0.6 length of upper glume; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate; 1.5-2 mm long; 0.7-0.9 length of adjacent fertile lemma; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile florets appressed to rhachilla; free at tip. Fertile lemma oblong, or ovate; 1.7-2.6 mm long; membranous; yellow, or grey, or purple; keeled; 3 -veined. Lemma lateral veins distinct. Lemma apex obtuse. Palea keels scaberulous. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Anthers 3; 0.2 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; ellipsoid, or oblong; without sulcus; 0.65-1 mm long; dark brown.
Distribution
Europe: southwestern and southeastern. Africa: north, Macaronesia, west-central tropical, northeast tropical, southern tropical, and south. Asia-temperate: western Asia and Arabia. Asia-tropical: India. Australasia: Australia. North America: northwest USA, north-central USA, southwest USA, south-central USA, and Mexico. South America: Caribbean, western South America, and southern South America.
Reference
Eragrostideae. Fl Pak.
[GB]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Annual up to 60 cm high; leaves flat or inrolled, always without crateriform glands on the margins
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Panicle lanceolate to elliptic, 3–15 cm long, the spikelets evenly spaced or gathered into fascicles, the branchlets and pedicels often bearing crateriform glands
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets linear, 6–15 mm long, 8- to 25-flowered, shedding their florets from below upwards, the paleas persistent on the tough rhachilla; glumes unequal, lanceolate, acute, without crateriform glands on the nerve, the lower 1–1.5 mm long, the upper 1.3–2.1 mm long; lemmas oblong-lanceolate in profile, papery, 1.7–2.3 mm long, scaberulous above, obtuse; palea-keels scabrid; anthers 3, c. 0.2 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Grain elliptic-oblong, 0.6–1 mm long.
Distribution
N1–3 Mediterranean region, tropical Africa and south-western Asia.
Ecology
Altitude range 750–1200 m.
Vernacular
Agar (Somali)
[FSOM]

Distribution
Biogeografic region: Andean. Elevation range: 1500–2000 m a.s.l. Naturalised in Colombia. Colombian departments: Antioquia.
Habit
Herb.
[UPFC]

Gramineae, W. D. Clayton. Flora of West Tropical Africa 3:2. 1972

Diagnostic
Closely resembles E. minor, differing in the narrower unequal glumes, longer appressed lemmas and eglandular leaf margins.
[FWTA]

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Bernal, R., Gradstein, S.R. & Celis, M. (eds.). 2015. Catálogo de plantas y líquenes de Colombia. Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá. http://catalogoplantasdecolombia.unal.edu.co

Distribution
Naturalizada en Colombia; Alt. 1500 - 2000 m.; Andes.
Morphology General Habit
Hierba
Conservation
No Evaluada
[CPLC]

Uses

Use Animal Food
Used as animal food.
Use Food
Used for food.
[UPFC]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • Catálogo de Plantas y Líquenes de Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora

    • Clayton, W.D., Vorontsova, M.S., Harman, K.T. and Williamson, H. (2006 onwards). GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora.
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images

  • Useful Plants and Fungi of Colombia

    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0