Graminae 

Synonyms: Agrostis alpicola Hochst; Agrostis mildbraedii Pilg

Common names: Agrostis

Description

Perennial from a slender rhizome with culms 15-120 cm high. Leaf-blades flat 4-25 cm long and 2-5 mm wide, glabrous or with scattered hairs. Panicle narrow and dense 4-25 cm long, up to 1.7 cm wide. Spikelets borne closely on the ± appressed branches, narrowly oblong 3-4.5 mm long, green or purple; lemma glabrous or pubescent, awned from 1/4 way up the back.

Habitat

Moist places at forest edges often in the ericaceous belt.

Altitude range

3050-4000 m.

Distribution

Kenya; also from Uganda, Cameroon and Congo to Ethiopia.

Use

Of some importance for grazing in afro-alpine meadows.

Similar Species

Agrostis kilimandscharica (forms with narrow panicles) but that species is not rhizomatous.

Edited by: F. Guiso Gallisai
Information taken from: Ibrahim, K. M., Kabuye, C. H. S. 1988. An illustrated manual of Kenya grasses. Rome, FAO. 765 pp.