Eriochloa distachya Kunth

Eriochloa distachya H.B.K. Nov. Gen. & Sp. 1: 95. 1815
Stems 4-7 dm. long, pubescent at the nodes; leaf -sheaths strongly striate, glabrous or softly pubescent; blades 4-8 cm. long, 4r-6 mm. wide, glabrous beneath, softly pubescent on the upper surface; racemes 1-3, 1-2 cm. long, the rachis hirsute; spikelets ovate to ellipticlanceolate, acute, about 3 mm. long, on short pedicels which bear numerous long terminal hairs half as long as the spikelets or equaling them, the first scale wanting, the second and third scales pubescent with long hairs, the fruiting scale about four fifths as long as the spikelet, finely transversely rugose, pubescent at the apex.
Type locality : Orinoco River, between Santa Barbara and Esmeralda, Venezuela.
Distribution : Guatemala to Costa Rica ; also in Venezuela.