Desmazeria - introduced (*Tribolium acutiflorum)

Native to South Africa. Perennial. C3.

Family. Poaceae (Grass family).

Identification:

• it is a small tufted grass (to 20cm high)
• the flower cluster is dense and spike-like, partly enclosed by leaves
• the glumes are almost as long as the spikelet
• the spikelet has 3-10 florets
• the lemmas are hairy at the base with often club-shaped hairs (i.e. rounded at the tip), or with hairs that are squared (with cut off tips)
• the leaves are inrolled
• the ligule is oblique, and fringed with hairs to 0.5mm.

The club-shaped to cut-off, rather thick hairs at the base of the lemmas are distinctive.

Tribolus: a three-tailed comet, referring to the lines of hairs on the lemma base; acutiflora: with pointed flowers, referring to the glumes and lemmas.

This grass once once known as Desmazeria acutiflora , and has retained this generic name as its common name.

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