American Crows-foot Grass - introduced (*Eleusine tristachya)

Native to tropical Africa. It was an early introduction into South America. Annual or perennial. C4.

Family. Poaceae (Grass family).

It was an uncommon weed that appears to be increasing in abundance in Castlemaine streets.

Identification

• it is low growing
• the flowers are dense on usually two or three short, stout radiating arms
• the glumes are shorter than the lemmas
• the spikelets have 3-7 florets
• the lemmas and glumes are sharp-pointed but not awned
• the leaves are folded or flat
• the ligules are membranous, shortly fringed,and 0.5-1mm long.

It is a distinctive grass, with short stout radiating arms, growing usually to about 20cm or less.

Eleusine: Eleusis was the earthly home of Demeter, the Greek goddess of agriculture; tristachya: bearing three spikes or clusters of flowers, referring to the radiating arms.

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