GrassWildAnnual

Chloris barbata Sw.

Swollen finger grass

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Description

Chloris barbata is an annual or short-lived perennial grass, usually 30–100 cm tall, with erect or ascending culms arising from a fibrous root system. Stems are slender, cylindrical, smooth, and often branched near the base. Leaves are linear, flat, and alternate, usually 10–30 cm long and 3–8 mm wide, with rough margins. Leaf sheaths are smooth or slightly hairy, and the ligule is membranous with a hairy margin. The inflorescence is a distinctive digitately arranged cluster of several slender spikes, usually 5–15 cm long, spreading like fingers from the top of the culm. The spikes are often purple or reddish, especially at maturity. Spikelets are arranged along one side of the rachis and contain awned florets. The fruit is a small caryopsis, enclosed within lemma and palea.

Diagnostic Characters

Vegetative

Annual grass. Finger-like flowering branches. Narrow leaves.

Floral

Digitate inflorescence. Purple-reddish spikes. Awned spikelets.

Fruit & Seed

Small grain enclosed in floral bracts.

Distribution

Native range: Native to Tropical America.

In Pakistan: Introduced and naturalized in Pakistan, India, Tropical Asia, Africa. Common in Pakistan plains, Roadsides, Agricultural fields.

Phenology

Flowering

Fruiting

Flowering: Summer–autumn Fruiting: Autumn

Ethnobotany & Uses

Fodder Value

Used as Grazing grass, Minor forage resource.

Ecological Importance

Colonizes disturbed soils. Provides cover in degraded habitats. Supports grassland insects.

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Where it grows on campus

This species is on the campus floristic list but was not pinned during the GPS mapping survey, so it has no map records yet.

Taxonomic Notes

Chloris belongs to tribe Cynodonteae, characterized by Digitate inflorescences, Spikelets arranged along slender branches, C4 photosynthetic pathway. Chloris barbata is recognized by Purple finger-like spikes, Hairy spikelets, Annual habit.