Panicum coloratum L.

Nile and Mediterranean regions, Oases and eastern desert.

Tropical and subtropical Africa, introduced elsewhere.

Perennial, tufted. Culms erect or ascending from a knotty base, 15–100 cm tall. Leaves basal and cauline; leaf sheaths glabrous, pilose or hispid; ligule 0.5–1 mm, a ciliolate membrane; leaf blades linear, flat, 7–30 × 0.5–1 cm, glabrous or pilose, base straight to amplexicaul, apex acute or acuminate. Panicle ovate in outline, 4–30 cm, much branched; branches ascending or spreading, the spikelets evenly spread or clustered on the branches. Spikelets ovate-elliptic, 2–3 mm, glabrous, acute; lower glume broadly ovate, 1/4–1/3 length of spikelet, 1–3-veined, acute to acuminate; upper glume ovate, as long as spikelet, 7–9-veined, acute; lower floret staminate, lemma similar to upper glume, palea well developed; upper floret pale yellow or brown, smooth, shiny.

Introduced for pasture [native to tropical and subtropical Africa; introduced elsewhere].

Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Rhizomes present, Rhizome short and compact, stems close, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems erect or ascending, Stems geniculate, decumbent, or lax, sometimes rooting at nodes, Stems caespitose, tufted, or clustered, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stems branching above base or distally at nodes, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems with inflorescence 1-2 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly cauline, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly open, or loose, Leaf sheath smooth, glabrous, Leaf sheath hairy, hispid or prickly, Leaf blades linear, Leaf blades 2-10 mm wide, Leaf blades mostly flat, L eaf blades mostly glabrous, Leaf blades more or less hairy, Ligule present, Ligule a fringed, ciliate, or lobed membrane, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence an open panicle, openly paniculate, branches spreading, Inflorescence solitary, with 1 spike, fascicle, glomerule, head, or cluster per stem or culm, Inflorescence branches more than 10 to numerous, Flowers bisexual, Spikelets pedicellate, Spikelets dorsally compressed or terete, Spikelet less than 3 mm wide, Spikelets with 1 fertile floret, Spikelets with 2 florets, Spikelet with 1 fertile floret and 1-2 sterile florets, Spikelets solitary at rachis nodes, Spikelets all alike and fertille, Spikelets bisexual, Spikelets disarticulating below the glumes, Rachilla or pedicel glabrous, Glumes present, empty bracts, Glumes 2 clearly present, Glumes distinctly unequal, Glumes equal to or longer than adjacent lemma, Glume equal to or longer than spikelet, Glumes 1 nerved, Glumes 3 nerved, Glumes 4-7 nerved, Glumes 8-15 nerved, Lemma similar in texture to glumes, Lemma 5-7 nerved, Lemma 8-15 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma apex truncate, rounded, or obtuse, Lemma awnless, Lemma mucronate, very shortly beaked or awned, less than 1-2 mm, Lemma margins inrolled, tightly covering palea and caryopsis, Lemma straight, Palea present, well developed, Palea about equal to lemma, Stamens 3, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis, Caryopsis ellipsoid, longitudinally grooved, hilum long-linear.

Panicum coloratum is a species of grass known by the common names kleingrass, blue panicgrass (USA), white buffalograss (southern Africa); Bambatsi panic, makarikari grass, and coolah grass (Australia). It is native to Africa, and it has been introduced elsewhere, such as the United States and Australia, and bred into many cultivars.

This plant is variable in appearance. In general, is a perennial bunchgrass which usually has rhizomes. The firm, mostly upright stems grow up to 1.4 m (4.6 ft) tall. The leaf blades are 10 to 30 cm (3.9 to 11.8 in) long. They are green to a waxy blue-green color. The panicles are variable in length. The spikelets are green and purple.

This grass is used as a pasture grass and to make hay. It produces a large amount of forage for animals. It is drought-tolerant and does well in hot climates. This C4 plant can grow on saline soils and requires some of sodium for effective photosynthesis. Different cultivars have varying tolerances of sodium. While it makes a good graze for most animals, the grass has occasionally been associated with liver damage and photosensitivity in young ruminants and horses. This photosensitivity can lead to sunburn, which causes swelling of the head and ears of the animal, a condition commonly called "swellhead".

Cultivars include 'Pollock', 'Bambatsi', 'Bushman Mine', 'Verde', and 'Kabulabula'.