Digitaria divaricatissima var. divaricatissima
Shortly rhizomatous perennial. Culms erect, to c. 50 cm high, base of plant thickened and hairy. Leaves velutinous to glabrous (usually the lower leaves hairier than upper); blade flat, 5–20 cm long, 2–7 mm wide; ligule obtuse, to c. 4 mm long. Panicle 8–25 cm long, with widely spreading, angular branches, the lowermost usually whorled, to 20 cm long. Spikelets acute, 3–4.5 mm long, mostly paired, on unequal pedicels, the longer to c. 3 mm; lower glume ovate, 0.4–1.2 mm long; upper glume 3–7-nerved, triangular, slightly shorter than the spikelet, with fine silky hairs all over or confined to the margins, often spreading sideways; lower lemma 7-nerved, as long as the spikelet, densely ciliate along the margin, and internerves, occasionally the internerve space adjacent to the mid-nerve glabrous; palea of lower floret vestigial or absent; upper (bisexual) floret about as long as upper glume, lemma narrow-elliptic, shortly acuminate, slightly rounded dorsally, finely granular. Flowers Nov.–Jun.
MuM, Wim, VRiv, MuF, Gold, GGr, NIS. Rare in Victoria and collected in recent times only from Dimboola, Mildura, Charlton, Tocumwal, Mitiamo and Springhurst areas, and Mt Arapiles. Mostly on heavier soils prone to occasional flooding.
Victorian specimens of D. divaricatissima have been referred in the past to D. coenicola but the characters used to distinguish the two species (the relative width and hairiness of the internerve space adjacent to the midnerve on the lower lemma) have been shown to be unreliable and all plants are now referred to the earlier name, D. divaricatissima.
REFERENCE: Stewart & Walsh 2011.
Stewart, H.; Walsh, N. (2011). A morphological comparison between Digitaria coenicola and D. divaricatissima (Poaceae: Paniceae). Muelleria 29(2): 190–200.