Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.

  • Authority

    Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.

  • Family

    Poaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.

  • Description

    Species Description - Annual herb; culms decumbent, 15-65 cm tall, thick-walled, glabrous. Leaf ligules 0.4-1 mm long; blades 5-30 x 0.2-0.6 cm, scabrous above. Inflorescences with 2-10 digitate or subdigitate racemes 3-15 cm long. Spikelets 4-6.5 mm long, 4-7- flowered, ascending at a 45° angle from the rachis; glumes 1.5-3 mm long; lower glume 1.5-2.5 mm long; upper glume 2.2-3 mm long; uppermost florets reduced; lemmas 2-3.2 mm long, glabrous; the midvein scabrous, especially on upper portion; anthers 0.2- 0.5 mm long, purplish. Caryopsis 0.7-1 mm long, dark purple.

    Distribution and Ecology - Occasional in disturbed pastures and along roadsides, introduced from the Old World. Bordeaux Mountain (A2613, A3803, A3851). Also on St. Croix, St. Thomas, and Tortola; worldwide in warm climates.

  • Discussion

    Common name: Dutch grass.