Burr Grass
Tragus berteronianus (?)
On a rocky slope near Voi, Kenya. 28 May 2017. C. Hines and R. Gill assisted identification.
Many grass species are difficult for the uninitiated to identify to species. Taxonomic keys use many terms to describe the characters of the spikes, spikelets, glumes, lemmas and rachises. This grass has broad leaves with long hairs (ciliate) along the margins. The florets are arranged in a simple, unbranched spike. Each spikelet is enclosed in bracts that are beset with minute barbs. These resemble carrot seeds, thus an alternate common name, Carrot-Seed Grass.
