Description:

• Annual or perennial, often rhizomatous or stoloniferous, tufted or decumbent, sometimes rooting at lower nodes
• Leaf blade usually linear and expanded; ligule an unfringed membrane
• Inflorescence terminal, composed of racemes, these spike-like, digitate or subdigitate or rarely borne on elongated central axis or solitary, rachis flat or triangular, sometimes winged; spikelets abaxial, solitary, in pairs or in triplets, unequally pedicelled
• Spikelet ovoid to lanceolate, dorsiventrally compressed, falling entire at maturity, variously pubescent, rarely glabrous; glumes unequal, dissimilar, awnless; lower glume abaxial, minute (up to quarter length of spikelet) or 0, either a triangular scale or a fragile, membranous collar, not clasping base of spikelet, rarely nerved; upper glume variable in length, 3-7-nerved, rarely nerveless, usually somewhat pubescent
• Florets 2; lower floret sterile; lemma lanceolate, usually as long as spikelet, rarely reduced to a small scale, flat on back, 3-11-nerved, usually densely hairy; palea reduced to a minute scale or 0; lodicules occasionally developed; upper floret bisexual, lemma ± as long as spikelet, same texture to firmer than glumes, chartaceous and smooth to granulate, becoming variously coloured in fruit (pale to dark brown), minutely rounded dorsally, the flat, thin hyaline margins enfolding and enclosing most of palea (Digitaria-type), glabrous, not or faintly 3-nerved, awnless; palea as long as lemma, not or faintly 2-nerved
• Lodicules cuneate, flat, 3-nerved
• Stamens 3
• Ovary glabrous, ovoid; styles distinct, plumose above
• Caryopsis oblong, mainly plano-convex in section, mostly acute to subacute
• x = 9 (15, 17) (high polyploidy)

Nomenclature:

• Digitaria Haller
  • Haller: 244 (1768) name conserved
  • Stapf: 372 (1898)
  • Henrard: (1950)
  • Chippindall: 392 (1955)
  • Veldkamp: 20 (1973)
  • Clayton & Renvoize: 619 (1982)
  • Kok: 184 (1984)
  • Clayton & Renvoize: 298 (1986)
  • Goetghebeur & Van der Veken: 133 (1989)
  • Kok et al.: 141 (1989)
  • Gibbs Russell et al.: 106 (1990)
  • Watson & Dallwitz: 326 (1994)
• Digitariella De Winter
  • De Winter: 467 (1961)

Distribution & Notes:

• Global: Species ± 230, cosmopolitan, mainly tropical and warm temperate
• Southern Africa: Species ± 35, widespread