Skip to main content
  1. Family: Poaceae Barnhart
    1. Genus: Andropogon L.

      1. Andropogon canaliculatus Schumach.

        This species is accepted, and its native range is Tropical Africa.

    [GB]
    Habit
    Perennial; caespitose. Culms erect; 25-200 cm long. Leaf-sheath oral hairs ciliate. Leaf-sheath auricles absent, or erect; 0-2 mm long. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blades 10-40 cm long; 1-5 mm wide.
    Inflorescences
    Synflorescence simple, or compound; linear. Inflorescence composed of racemes; terminal, or terminal and axillary; subtended by an unspecialized leaf-sheath, or a spatheole. Racemes 2; paired; bilateral (as to sterile spikelets); 3-9 cm long. Rhachis fragile at the nodes; ciliate on margins. Rhachis internodes cuneate, or inflated. Rhachis internode tip transverse; crateriform; with simple rim. Spikelets appressed; in pairs. Fertile spikelets sessile; 1 in the cluster. Companion sterile spikelets pedicelled; 1 in the cluster. Pedicels cuneate, or inflated; ciliate.
    Sterile
    Companion sterile spikelets well-developed; male; lanceolate; dorsally compressed; 3.5-6 mm long; as long as fertile. Companion sterile spikelet glumes chartaceous; scaberulous; glabrous; acute; muticous, or mucronate. Companion sterile spikelet lemmas enclosed by glumes.
    Spikelets
    Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets linear; laterally compressed; 4-6 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus pilose; base obtuse; inserted. Companion sterile spikelets well-developed; male; lanceolate; dorsally compressed; 3.5-6 mm long; as long as fertile. Companion sterile spikelet glumes chartaceous; scaberulous; glabrous; acute; muticous, or mucronate. Companion sterile spikelet lemmas enclosed by glumes.
    Fertile
    Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets linear; laterally compressed; 4-6 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus pilose; base obtuse; inserted.
    Glume
    Glumes dissimilar; exceeding apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume linear; 1 length of spikelet; coriaceous; 2-keeled; keeled dorsally. Lower glume surface deeply depressed. Upper glume linear; chartaceous; 1-keeled. Upper glume muticous.
    Florets
    Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; hyaline; 2 -veined. Fertile lemma oblong; hyaline; without keel. Lemma apex lobed; 2 -fid; incised 0.5 of lemma length; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn from a sinus; geniculate; 7-15 mm long overall; with twisted column. Column of lemma awn glabrous.
    Distribution
    Africa: west tropical, west-central tropical, northeast tropical, east tropical, and southern tropical.
    Reference
    Andropogoneae. FTEA.
    Diagnostic
    Internodes and pedicels twice as wide as gap between them.
    [FWTA]

    Gramineae, W. D. Clayton. Flora of West Tropical Africa 3:2. 1972

    Habit
    Tufted perennial up to nearly 2 m. high
    Anthers
    Anthers yellow
    Ecology
    Swampy soils.
    [FTEA]

    Gramineae, W. D. Clayton, S. M. Phillips & S. A. Renvoize. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1974

    Habit
    Tufted perennial; culms 25–200 cm. high, erect.
    Leaves
    Leaf-blades narrow, 10–40 cm. long, 1–5 mm. wide; sheath-auricles and ligules up to 2 mm. long, usually hairy at the throat.
    Inflorescences
    Inflorescence of paired racemes, occasionally terminal but usually up to 8 loosely gathered into a false panicle; racemes 3–9 cm. long, purplish; internodes and pedicels broadly cuneate to inflated, ± twice as wide as the gap between them, sparsely ciliate.
    Spikelets
    Sessile spikelet 4–6 mm. long, including a short blunt callus; lower glume linear, deeply depressed between the dorsal keels, glabrous; upper glume acute; upper lemma bilobed almost to the middle, with an awn 7–15 mm. long. Pedicelled spikelet narrowly lanceolate, 3.5–6 mm. long, scaberulous on the nerves, glabrous, acute or mucronate (rarely up to 2 mm.).
    Sessile
    Sessile spikelet 4–6 mm. long, including a short blunt callus; lower glume linear, deeply depressed between the dorsal keels, glabrous; upper glume acute; upper lemma bilobed almost to the middle, with an awn 7–15 mm. long.
    Pedicelled
    Pedicelled spikelet narrowly lanceolate, 3.5–6 mm. long, scaberulous on the nerves, glabrous, acute or mucronate (rarely up to 2 mm.).
    Habitat
    Mainly in moist or swampy places; 0–2300 m.
    Distribution
    K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 T1 T2 T3 T4 T7 T8 U2 U3 U4 westwards to Malia few isolated records to the south
    [FZ]

    Gramineae, T. A. Cope. Flora Zambesiaca 10:4. 2002

    Diagnostic
    Very closely allied to A. perligulatus but differing in the following characters: ligule a fringed membrane c. 0.5 mm long; leaf laminas c. 4 mm wide with some long hairs at the base; pedicels more strongly inflated-clavate; sessile spikelets 4.5–6 mm long; lemma 3.2–4 mm long, bifid to the middle; pedicelled spikelets shorter than the sessile, 4.2–4.5 mm long; anthers 1–2 mm long, dark red.

    Images

    Distribution

    Native to:

    Benin, Burkina, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Repu, Chad, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zaïre, Zimbabwe

    Synonyms

    Other Data

    Andropogon canaliculatus Schumach. appears in other Kew resources:

    Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status
    Chevalier [2349] K000280646 syntype
    Pobéguin [1776] K000280645
    Pobéguin [513] K000280644
    Fyffe, R. [186], Uganda K000280604 holotype

    Bibliography

    First published in Beskr. Guin. Pl.: 52 (1827)

    Accepted by

    • Onana, J.M. (2011). The vascular plants of Cameroon a taxonomic checklist with IUCN assessments: 1-195. National herbarium of Cameroon, Yaoundé.
    • Lisowski, S. (2009). Flore (Angiospermes) de la République de Guinée Scripta Botanica Belgica 41: 1-517.
    • Sosef, M.S.M. & al. (2006). Check-list des plantes vasculaires du Gabon Scripta Botanica Belgica 35: 1-438.
    • Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
    • Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. & Williamson, H. (2006). World Grass Species - Synonymy database The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
    • Cope, T.A. (2002). Flora Zambesiaca 10(4): 1-190. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
    • Hedberg, I. & Edwards, S. (eds.) (1995). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 7: 1-430. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
    • Ndabaneze, P. (1989). Catalogue des Graminées du Burundi Lejeunia; Revue de Botanique, n.s., 132: 1-127.
    • Troupin, G. (ed.) (1988). Flora du Rwanda 4: I-X, 1-651. Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale.
    • Boudet, G., Lebrun, J.P. & Demange, R. (1986). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Mali: 1-465. Etudes d'Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux.
    • Clayton, W.D. & Renvoize, S.A. (1982). Gramineae Flora of Tropical East Africa 3: 451-898.
    • Boulvert, Y. (1977). Catalogue de la Flore de Centrafrique 2(2): 1-94. ORSTOM, Bangui.
    • Lebrun, J.P. (1973). Énumération des plantes vasculaires du Sénégal: 1-209. Maisons Alfort: Institut d'élevage et de médecine vétérinaire des pays tropicaux.
    • Hepper, F.N. (ed.) (1972). Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 3(2): 277-574.
    • Lebrun, J.-P., Audru, J., Gaston, A. & Mosnier, M. (1972). Catalogue des Plantes Vasculaires du Tchad Méridional: 1-289. Institut d' Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux, Maisons Alfort.

    Literature

    Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Berhaut, Fl. Sén., ed. 2, 425
    • Aké Assi, Contrib. 2: 299
    • in Rev. Bot. Appliq. 13: 866
    • Chev. Bot. 716
    • F.T.A. 9: 251
    • incl. var. fastigians Stapf in F.T.A. 9: 252 (1919).
    • Beskr. Guin. Pl. 52 (1827)

    Kew Backbone Distributions

    • Onana, J.M. (2011). The vascular plants of Cameroon a taxonomic checklist with IUCN assessments: 1-195. National herbarium of Cameroon, Yaoundé.
    • Sosef, M.S.M. & al. (2006). Check-list des plantes vasculaires du Gabon Scripta Botanica Belgica 35: 1-438.
    • Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.
    • Cope, T.A. (2002). Flora Zambesiaca 10(4): 1-190. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
    • Hedberg, I. & Edwards, S. (eds.) (1995). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 7: 1-430. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
    • Ndabaneze, P. (1989). Catalogue des Graminées du Burundi Lejeunia; Revue de Botanique, n.s., 132: 1-127.
    • Troupin, G. (ed.) (1988). Flora du Rwanda 4: I-X, 1-651. Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale.
    • Boudet, G., Lebrun, J.P. & Demange, R. (1986). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Mali: 1-465. Etudes d'Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux.
    • Clayton, W.D. & Renvoize, S.A. (1982). Gramineae Flora of Tropical East Africa 3: 451-898.
    • Boulvert, Y. (1977). Catalogue de la Flore de Centrafrique 2(2): 1-94. ORSTOM, Bangui.
    • Lebrun, J.P. (1973). Énumération des plantes vasculaires du Sénégal: 1-209. Maisons Alfort: Institut d'élevage et de médecine vétérinaire des pays tropicaux.
    • Hepper, F.N. (ed.) (1972). Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 3(2): 277-574.
    • Lebrun, J.-P., Audru, J., Gaston, A. & Mosnier, M. (1972). Catalogue des Plantes Vasculaires du Tchad Méridional: 1-289. Institut d' Elevage et de Médecine Vétérinaire des Pays Tropicaux, Maisons Alfort.
    • Robyns, W. (1929). Flore Agrostologique du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi 1: 1-229. Goemaere, Bruxelles.

    Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Clayton in Flora of West Tropical Africa, ed. 2, 3: 486 (1972).
    • D.M. Napper, Grasses of Tanganyika: 104 (1965).
    • K.W. Harker & D.M. Napper, An Illustrated Guide to the Grasses of Uganda p. 16 (1960).
    • A.V. Bogdan, A Revised List of Kenya Grasses p. 58 (1958).
    • Eggeling, Ann. list grasses Ug.: 2 (1947).
    • Robyns, Fl. Agrost. Congo Belge 1: 137 (1929).
    • Stapf in Flora of Tropical Africa 9: 251 (1919).
    • Schumach., Beskr. Guin. Pl.: 52 (1827).

    Sources

    Flora Zambesiaca
    Flora Zambesiaca
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    Flora of West Tropical Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Herbarium Catalogue Specimens
    'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

    Kew Backbone Distributions
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2020. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

    Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2020. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0