DACTYLOCTENIUM

Dactyloctenium Willd., Enum. Pl. 1029. 1809; Boiss., Fl. Or. 5: 556. 1884; Bor, Grasses Burma, Ceyl. Ind. Pak. 488. 1960; Sharma & Khosla, Grasses Punj. and Chandigarh 64. 1989; Cope in Nasir & Ali, Fl. Pak. 143: 105. 1982; Chen & Phillips, Fl. China @ eFloras.org 22: 480; Fl. Pak. @ eFloras.org p. 105.

Annuals or perennials, culms tufted or stoloniferous, compressed. Leaf blades linear, flat or loosely folded; ligule membranous, often ciliolate. Inflorescence of 2-many stout, digitate spike-like racemes, racemes rarely solitary, racemes linear to narrowly oblong. Spikelets sessile, elliptic to ovate, laterally compressed, spreading at right angles, arranged in 2 rows on one side of a narrow, flattened rachis, rachis terminating in a bare point extension; rachilla disarticulating above the glumes; 3-5-flowered, floret bisexual or the uppermost reduced. Glumes shorter than the lemmas, persistent, keeled, 1-nerved; lower glume smaller, sharply acute; upper glume with a stout oblique awn from just below the broadly rounded emarginate tip. Lemmas membranous, strongly keeled, 3-nerved, acute or shortly awned. Palea as long as lemma, 2-keeled, keels sometimes winged. Lodicules 2, cuneate. Stamens 3. Stigmas 2, plumose. Caryopsis oblong to globose, transversely rugose.

13 species

Dactyloctenium aegyptium

Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) Willd., Enum. Pl. 1029. 1809; Bor, Grasses Burma, Ceyl. Ind. Pak. 489. f. 54. 1960; Sharma & Khosla, Grasses Punj. and Chandigarh 64. 1989; Maheshwari, Illust. Fl. Delhi f. 263. 1966; Kaur & Sharma, Fl. Sirmaur 662. 2004; Singh & Sharma, Fl. Chamba Dist. 773. 2006; Fl. China @ eFloras.org 22: 481; Fl. Pak. @ eFloras.org p. 106; Eleusine aegyptia (L.) Desf., Fl. Atlant. 1: 85. 1798; Hook. f., Fl. Brit. Ind. 7: 295. 1897; Chloris mucronata Michx., Fl. Bor. Amer. 1: 59. 1803; Cynosures aegyptius L., Sp. Pl. 1: 72. 1753; Dactyloctenium mucronatum Willd., Enum. Pl. Hort. Berol. 1029. 1809.

Annual. Culms 12-70 cm long, erect, geniculately ascending or prostrate, much branched, frequently shortly stoloniferous and mat-forming, less often erect; nodes thickened. Leaf blade linear, acute to acuminate, 5-20 cm x 2-8 mm, margin scabrid, glabrous or sparsely hairy on the surface or at margin with tubercle-based hairs; leaf sheath compressed, glabrous or with ciliate margin; ligule membranous, 1-2 mm, ciliolate. Inflorescence of 2-6, erect, digitately spreading, oftenly radiating horizontally, greyish-green spikes. Spikes 1.5-4.5 cm long, linear to narrowly oblong. Spikelets many, sessile, broadly ovate, arranged in 2 rows on one side of rachis (lower side); rachis flat or trigonous, terminating into a stiff mucro up to 2.5 cm long. Spikelets 3-5-flowered, perpendicular to rachis, up to 4 mm long. Glumes subequal, membranous; lower glume ovate, acute, ca. 2.5 mm long, 1-nerved, keeled, keel thick, hispidulous; upper glume 2-2.5 mm long, suborbicular, 1-nerved, keel thick, extending into a stout scabrid curved, ca. 1.5-2 mm long awn. Lemma 3-3.5 mm long, broadly or gibbously ovate, mucronate, strongly keeled, 3-nerved. Palea slightly shorter than the lemma, ovate-oblong, broad, 2-keeled, ciliate on keels. Lodicules 2. Stamens 3; anthers ca. 0.5 mm long. Caryopsis up to 1 mm long, obovoid- globose, rugose.

Flowering and Fruiting: July to December
Common Names: : Crowfoot Grass, Egyptian Crowfoot Grass, Beach Wire Grass, Coast Button Grass, Comb Fringe Grass, Duck Grass, Durban Crowfoot, Egyptian Finger Grass, Egyptian Grass, Four-finger Grass, Finger Comb Grass; Makra (Hindi)