Dactyloctenium australe

Dactyloctenium australe View in CoL in India

Dactyloctenium australe is an obligatory perennial native of South Africa (introduced to Australia and elsewhere) and has characteristically long anthers, 1.3–1.7 mm long (Simon & Alfonso, 2011; Fish et al., 2015). It differs from D. scindicum with its rather long spikes ( 1.5–5 cm long vs. 0.5–2.3 cm long); lemma (gibbous and acuminate vs. non-gibbous and obtuse to mucronate); culms (not bulbous-based vs. bulbous-based) and stolons (non-woody, not coming from distinct thickets vs. woody, coming from distinct thickets). Dactyloctenium australe may easily be confused with the perennial forms of D. aegyptium , yet the latter can be distinguished in shorter anthers c. 0.8 mm long vs. 1.3–1.7 mm long in the former.

Until Bor (1960), Dactyloctenium australe was never reported from India. According to him, it was introduced in India as a lawn grass. The specimens G. A. Gammie 15395 (barcode: BLAT83342) and H. Santapau 211.3 (barcode: BLAT83344) were sent to K from BLAT by H. Santapau under the authority of Bor for identification (according to personal letters of Santapau to Bor archived at BLAT). Bor (1960) identified these two specimens as D. australe and it is very likely that his identification was taken up by subsequent workers from India to further identify this species. The first author has critically examined three specimens ( G. A. Gammie 15395, P. Divakar PD2744 (barcode: BLAT83343) H. Santapau 211.3 from Maharashtra state) previously identified as D. australe at BLAT and found that the anthers are only 0.4–0.5 mm in length, which implies that the specimens are of D. aegyptium . Bor (1960) used the character of perennial habit to separate D. australe from D. aegyptium , the latter of which according to him is an obligatory annual. However, it could be sometimes perennial in certain habitats, such as on the seashore, and drier places. In these cases, it is very difficult to separate either one by following the key provided in Bor (1960), and the probabilities for their misidentification are much higher. Such a case is seen in the recent report from Telangana state by Nagaraju et al. (2021); according to them their grass is D. australe and is an addition to the flora of Telangana state. The reported species is perennial and showing anthers c. 0.4 mm long, which implies that it is a misidentification of the perennial form of D. aegyptium away from the coast where it is infrequently seen. Nagaraju et al. (2021), followed identification key given in Bor (1960), which is misleading, as discussed above. We followed Clayton et al. (2006) and Fish et al. (2015) for the identification of D. australe . Hitherto, we have not found D. australe in our survey or in any herbaria (BSI, BLAT, WCAS, BSJO and BAMU) so far visited in India. There is no evidence of the presence of this species in India. Therefore, we eliminate D. australe from Indian grasses.

Dactyloctenium aegyptium specimens examined (previously identified as D. scindicum ):

INDIA, Gujarat, Kuchchh district [Kutch], Narayan Sarovar, Lakhpattaluka , 25.09.2000, V. Singh 15817 (BSJO) . Maharashtra, Buldhana district, Dhagenala near Varvat , 20.06.1982, P. G. Diwakar 162835 (BSI); Latur district , Dhanora (Nilanga), 18.09.2010, R. D. Gore RDG-238 (WCAS); Nashik district , Karayal (Umberthan), 12.08.1983, P. L. Narsimhan 165248 (BSI); Raigad district , Uran [Navi Mumbai], 15.01.1963, P. Divakar PD5795 & Danda PD 5796 (BLAT); Satara district , Bowdhan [Bavdhan], 10.10.1956, S. K. Jain 7551 (BSI); Solapur district , Pangri Camp, s.d., S. R. Rothe 6876 (BAMU); Ibid., Pangri-Barshi, 18.09.2010, s.coll., KUG-904 (WCAS) . Rajasthan, Sabarkantha district , Raigarh F.B., 21.09.2005, P. J. Parwar 19388 (BSJO) .

Dactyloctenium aristatum specimens examined (previously identified as D. scindicum ):

INDIA, Gujarat, Dwarka district, Okha sea shore, 14.10.1953, H. Santapau 16731 (BLAT); Mehsana district , Charul Gochar, Kadi, 05.07.2002, P. J. Parwar 12754 & 12753 (BSJO) . Maharashtra, Mumbai district, Madh Island , 14.07.1951, H. Santapau 12969 (BLAT); Ibid., 23.09.1956, H. Santapau 21269 & 21270 (BLAT); Ibid., 26.08.1956, G. L. Shah 7400 & 7399 (BLAT); Ibid., 02.09.1956, G. L. Shah 7606 (BLAT); Versova (Andheri), 29.09.1956, R. R. Fernandez R2104 (BLAT) . Rajasthan, Jaipur district, 440 m, 09.08.1966, S. Sharma 1599 (CAL); Jaipur-Ajmer road, 19.08.1964, B. M. Wadhwa 4837 (BSJO); Jodhpur district, Dians village , 31.10.1972, B. V. Shetty 251 (BSJO); Kota district , Shahbad, 15.09.1968, R. B. Majumdar 10499 (BSJO); Pali district , new Padara village on the way to Gum Pratapsingh hill, 262 m, 07.11.1974, B. V. Shetty 1380 (BSJO) .

Dactyloctenium aegyptium specimens examined (previously identified as D. australe ):

INDIA, Maharashtra, Mumbai district, Versova, 31.07.1941, H. Santapau, 211.3 [83344] (BLAT); Raigad district , Mora Uran [from compound of the sanatorium], 31.10.1961, P. Divakar, PD2744 [ Acc. No. 83343] (BLAT); Pune [Poona] district, Khandala, 20.09.1902, G. A. Gammie, 15395 [ Acc. No. 83342] (BLAT) .

Dactyloctenium aristatum specimens examined (previously identified as D. aegyptium ):

INDIA, Gujarat, Saurashtra region, Junagadhsasur , 04.10.1953, H. Santapau 16288 (BLAT) .

Dactyloctenium aegyptium specimens examined (previously identified as D. aristatum ):

INDIA, Uttar Pradesh, Aligarh near Cherat Usar reserve , 26.08.1888, J. E. Duthie 7699 (K) .