G.524. Digitaria Haller - Finger-grasses

Description of the genus

Annuals or perennials. Inflorescence composed of racemes, these digitate or borne upon an elongated central axis; spikelets 2-3(-5)-nate, rarely solitary. Spikelets pedicellate, awnless; lower floret barren; upper floret bisexual; lower glume small or 0; upper glume as long as the spikelet or shorter, exposing the upper lemma; lower lemma usually as long as the spikelet, typically with longitudinal lines of hairs between the nerves; upper lemma chartaceous to cartilaginous, longitudinally striate.

Worldwide: c. 220 species in warm and tropical regions

Rwanda: 8 taxa.

Insects associated with this genus:
Borbo fatuellus (Long-horned swift) Larval foodplant
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Links to taxa:     View: living plant images - herbarium specimen images - all images for this genus

SpeciesContent
abyssinica (Hochst. ex A.Rich.) Stapf
diagonalis (Nees) StapfDescription
longiflora (Retz.) Pers.Description
maitlandii Stapf & C.E. Hubb.Description
pearsonii StapfDescription
ternata (A. Rich.) StapfDescription
thouaresiana (Flüggé) A. CamusDescription
velutina (Forssk.) P. Beauv.Description, Image

Other sources of information about Digitaria:

Our websites:

Flora of Botswana: Digitaria
Flora of Burundi: Digitaria
Flora of Caprivi: Digitaria
Flora of Malawi: Digitaria
Flora of Mozambique: Digitaria
Flora of Zambia: Digitaria
Flora of Zimbabwe: Digitaria

External websites:

African Plants: A Photo Guide (Senckenberg): Digitaria
BHL (Biodiversity Heritage Library): Digitaria
EOL (Encyclopedia of Life): Digitaria
GBIF (Global Biodiversity Information Facility): Digitaria
Google: Web - Images - Scholar
iNaturalist: Digitaria
IPNI (International Plant Names Index): Digitaria
JSTOR Plant Science: Digitaria
Mansfeld World Database of Agricultural and Horticultural Crops: Digitaria
Plants of the World Online: Digitaria
Tropicos: Digitaria
Wikipedia: Digitaria

Copyright: The Rwanda flora team, 2024-25

The Rwanda flora team (2025). Flora of Rwanda: Genus page: Digitaria.
https://www.rwandaflora.com/speciesdata/genus.php?genus_id=210, retrieved 12 December 2025

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