Common name
Swamp Barnyard Millet
Swamp Barnyard Grass

Derivation
Echinochloa P.Beauv., Ess. Agrostogr. 53 (1812); from the Greek echinos (hedgehog) and chloe (grass), alluding to the echinate inflorescence branches.

telmatophila- from the Greek telmatos (pond) and phileo (love). Growing in swamps.

Published in
Telopea 1: 44 (1975).

Common synonyms
Echinochloa walteri auct. non (Pursh) Heller

Habit
Annual. Stolons absent. Culms erect or geniculately ascending or decumbent, robust or of moderate stature, 50–180 cm tall, 5–9 mm diam., 4–6-noded, without nodal roots or rooting from lower nodes. Mid-culm internodes channelled, striate, smooth. Mid-culm nodes glabrous. Lateral branches simple or sparsely branched, arising from mid culm and upper culm. Leaf-sheaths longer than adjacent culm internode, striately nerved, glabrous on surface or pilose, with tubercle-based hairs. Ligule absent. Collar glabrous or pubescent. Leaf-blades 10–35 cm long, 7–18 mm wide. Leaf-blade midrib conspicuous. Leaf-blade venation with 10 secondary nerves. Leaf-blade surface scabrous, glabrous. Leaf-blade margins cartilaginous, scabrous, glabrous or tuberculate-ciliate, hairy at base. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

Inflorescence
Inflorescence compound, a panicle of racemes, exserted. Racemes numerous, erect or ascending, unilateral, 2–10 cm long, simple or with branchlets at base of longer racemes. Central inflorescence axis 10–35 cm long, hairy. Rhachis angular, scabrous on margins. Spikelet packing imbricate, 4-rowed. Raceme-bases stiffly setose.

Spikelets
Spikelets in threes or clustered at each node or in pairs, subequal. Pedicels unequal, scabrous, tip discoid. Fertile spikelets 2-flowered, comprising 1 fertile floret, lower floret sterile, upper fertile, without rhachilla extension, linear or elliptic, dorsally compressed, cuspidate, 3–4.2 mm long, 1.2–1.5 mm wide, falling entire. Rhachilla internodes elongated between glumes.

Glumes
Glumes dissimilar, thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate, clasping, 1.1–1.5 mm long, 33–50% of length of spikelet, membranous, 3–5-nerved. Lower glume surface scabrous. Lower glume apex acute or acuminate, mucronate. Upper glume elliptic, dorsally convex in profile, 3–4.2 mm long, 100% of length of spikelet, membranous, 5-nerved. Upper glume surface spinose, rough below, puberulous, hairy between nerves. Upper glume apex acuminate or cuspidate, muticous or mucronate or awned. Upper glume awn 2–7 mm long.

Florets
Basal sterile floret 1, with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to upper glume, elliptic, 3–4.2 mm long, 100% of length of spikelet, membranous, 7-nerved, flat across back, spinulose, rough on nerves, puberulous, hairy between nerves, acuminate or cuspidate, awned. Awn of lower sterile floret 10–40 mm long. Palea of lower sterile floret 100% of length of lemma. Fertile florets bisexual. Fertile lemma elliptic, gibbous, 2.9–4.1 mm long, 1.25–1.5 mm wide, indurate, much thinner above, of similar consistency on margins, yellow, glossy, 5-nerved. Lemma lateral nerves obscure. Lemma surface smooth. Lemma margins involute. Lemma apex acute or cuspidate, mucronate. Palea reflexed at apex, 100% of length of lemma, indurate. Anthers 3, 0.6–1.5 mm long. Grain with adherent pericarp, oblong, 1.8–2.3 mm long. Embryo 75% of length of grain.

Continental Distribution:
Australasia.

Australian Distribution:
Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales.

Western Australia: Drummond, Menzies. Queensland: Cook, North Kennedy, Burnett, Wide Bay, Moreton, Mitchell, Maranoa. New South Wales: North Coast, Central Coast, North-Western Plains, South Far Western Plains.

Classification. (GPWG 2001):
Panicoideae

Notes
Native. Flowers Dec.–Apr.

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