Botanical name

Geochloa rufa

Family

Poaceae

Common Name

Brandgras

Synonym (old name)

Merxmuellera rufa
Geochloa rufa
Geochloa rufa
Geochloa rufa
Geochloa rufa
Geochloa rufa
Geochloa rufa

Description

Tufted perennial. Leaves up to 20cm x 4.5mm; purple culms and leaf sheaths; base bulbous and covered in old persistent woolly sheaths. Inflorescence is a panicle 3-7mm long, globose or cylindrical; spikelets, including awns, up to 25mm x 15mm wide; lemma backs are densely pubescent from base to middle; central awn 6-16mm, geniculate.

Endemic to the western Cape

Habitat

Sandy soils on mountain slopes; locally common in burnt areas