Digitaria eriantha
| Digitaria eriantha | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Monocots |
| (unranked): | Commelinids |
| Order: | Poales |
| Family: | Poaceae |
| Genus: | Digitaria |
| Species: | D. eriantha |
| Binomial name | |
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Digitaria eriantha Steud. |
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Digitaria eriantha, commonly known as digitgrass or Pangola-grass, is a grass grown in tropical and subtropical climates. It grows relatively well in various soils, but grows especially well in moist soils. It is tolerant to droughts, water lodging, suppresses weeds and grows relatively quickly post grazing. This grass demonstrates great potential for farmers in Africa in subtropical and tropical climates, mostly for livestock feed.
Digitaria eriantha is a monocot and in the family of Poaceae. "It is perennial, sometimes stoloniferous or tufted". This grass grows a dense tussock with extended stolons, which are covered with hairs or without hairs. Each grass, erect or ascending, reaches between 35 and 180 cm tall. The lowest basal leaf sheaths are densely hairy, or very rarely smooth. The leaf blades are typically 5–60 cm long, 2–14 mm wide and may be either hairy or smooth. Each inflorescence typically has six or seven spicate branches, each of which carries numerous florets. These spikelets are usually 2–4 mm long, where the lower glume is as long as the spikelet and the upper glumes are where the lemma is situated (covered with 1 mm long hairs).
Digit grass is native to Africa, in countries such as Angola, Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Swaziland. It is also cultivated in Australia and Argentina. Today, it is distributed in many humid subtropical and tropical areas. There are many others names for D. eriantha, such as common finger grass, digit grass, pangola grass, woolly finger grass (English), digitaria (French), pangolagras (German) and pangola, pasto pangola (Spanish).
The seeds require a clean seedbed for establishment and all seed needs to be evenly distributed when sowing in order to reduce competition in their early stages. Digit grass can grow in a variety of soils, ranging from sands to heavy clay. However, seeds are better adapted to sandy loam soils compared to heavier soils because seedling establishment is easier. Once established, seedling can grow vigorously on clay soils.
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Wikipedia