Annual, tufted or culms solitary, sometimes geniculate
Leaf blade rolled or expanded, glabrous; ligule a hyaline, unfringed membrane
Inflorescence a panicle with somewhat rigid, short branches, or a raceme, spike-like, linear to ovate, secund; spikelets solitary
Spikelet 5-7(-10) mm long, laterally compressed, green or purplish in colour, disarticulating above glumes; glumes ± equal, shorter than spikelet, similar to dissimilar, keeled, membranous, awnless; lower glume 1-3-nerved; upper glume 3-5-nerved
Florets 3-10, bisexual or uppermost floret reduced and sterile; lemma overlapping at first, rounded at least towards base, glabrous, 5-nerved, awnless; palea ± equal to lemma, 2-keeled
Lodicules 2, ovate, hyaline
Stamens 3
Ovary ovoid, glabrous; styles distinct, plumose
x = 7
Nomenclature:
*Catapodium Link
Link: 44 (1827)
Stapf: 718 (1900)
Hubbard: 181 (1954)
Stace: 158 (1980) under Desmazeria Dumont
Clayton & Renvoize: 107 (1986)
Gibbs Russell et al.: 78 (1990)
Watson & Dallwitz: 207 (1994)
Scleropoa Griseb.
Grisebach: 431 (1846)
Chippindall: 50 (1955)
Distribution & Notes:
Global: Species 2, Europe and North Africa to Iran, mainly Mediterranean region, introduced elsewhere
Southern Africa: Species 1: *Catapodium rigidum (L.) C.E.Hubb., naturalised, coastal districts of Western Cape
References:
CHIPPINDALL, L.K.A. 1955. A guide to the identification of grasses in South Africa. In D. Meredith, The grasses and pastures of South Africa. Central News Agency, Cape Town
CLAYTON, W.D. & RENVOIZE S.A. 1986. Genera graminum. Grasses of the world. Kew Bulletin. Additional series 13
GIBBS RUSSELL, G.E., WATSON, L., KOEKEMOER, M., SMOOK, L., BARKER, N.P., ANDERSON, H.M. & DALLWITZ. M.J. 1990. Grasses of southern Africa. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa No. 58
GRISEBACH, A.H.R. 1846. Spicilegium florae rumelica et bithynicae 2. F. Vieweg & Son, Braunschweig
HUBBARD, C.E. 1954. Grasses: A guide to their structure, identification, uses, and distribution in the British Isles. Penguin Books, Harmondsworth, Middlesex
LINK, J.H.F. 1827. Hortus regius botanicus berolinensis 1. G. Reimer, Berlin
STACE, C.A. 1980. Flora europaea 5
STAPF, O. 1898-1900. Gramineae. Flora capensis 7
WATSON, L. & DALLWITZ, M.J. 1994. The grass genera of the world, revised edn. CAB International, Oxon
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Welcome to Biodiversity Advisor 2.0!
Biodiversity Advisor, developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and its Data Partners, is a system that will provide integrated biodiversity information to a wide range of users who will have access to geospatial data, plant and animal species distribution data, ecosystem-level data, literature, images and metadata.
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