Digitaria Haller f.
Rhachis with spikelets to the base or devoid of spikelets up to 1 cm from the base
Plants tufted. Culms sometimes bent near the base and rooting at the nodes but never with prostrate stolons
Hairs on the spikelets crinkled. Spikelets pallid to purple
Spikelets with short fine hairs with verrucose walls, purplish black, c. 1.5 mm long. Lower glume absent or minute; upper glume slightly shorter than the spikelet. Racemes usually 4–6, 5–10 cm long, on a short common axis. Ascending annual up to 50 cm high, rooting at the lower nodes. Coast. Weed. Introd. from trop. America and Asia. Fl. summer Digitaria violascens
Spikelets with short fine hairs with smooth walls, pallid to purplish, 2–2.5 mm long. Lower glume absent or minute; upper glume slightly shorter than the spikelet. Sterile lemma as long as the spikelet. Racemes 2–6, 3–10 cm long, on a short common axis. Ascending or decumbent annual up to 40 cm high. Widespread. Weed. Fl. summer–autumn. Introd. from Europe and Asia. Smooth Summer Grass Digitaria ischaemum