奇草 qi ge cao

Annual, tufted. Culms 15–100 cm tall. Uppermost leaf sheath inflated; leaf blades 2–9 mm wide; ligule 2–8 mm. Panicle dense, narrowly oblong, 4–10 cm, base enclosed in uppermost leaf sheath. Spikelets arranged in clusters composed of 1 fertile spikelet encircled by 6 sterile spikelets, clusters falling entire, sterile spikelets sometimes reduced to club-shaped clusters of glumes. Fertile spikelet: glumes 4.5–6 mm, prominently 7–9-veined, narrowly winged, wing expanded near middle into large tooth, pale green or straw-colored with dark green stripe above tooth, apex attenuate; sterile lemmas abortive, represented by 2 minute fleshy scales at base of fertile lemma; fertile lemma elliptic, 2.8–3.2 mm, cartilaginous, shiny, sparsely pilose toward apex. Anthers 1–1.8 mm. 2n = 14.

Wheat fields, introduced. Yunnan [N Africa, SW Asia, S Europe].

Like the previous species, this widespread, annual weed was introduced to China accidentally in wheat seed imported from Mexico about 1974.