Digitaria  

Annual or perennial. Culms tufted, caespitose, erect, ascending to erect, procumbent, decumbent, rhizomatous, stoloniferous or creeping. Ligules membranous, erose or fimbriate. Blades linear to lanceolate. Inflorescences composed of racemes; rachis ribbon-like or triquetrous, with or without wings. Spikelets solitary, binate, ternate or more, positioned on abaxial, dorsally flattened. Floret 2. Lower glume sometimes absent or reduced to a small scale, ovate or triangular, collar scarious to chartaceous, 0(–3)-nerved. Upper glume shorter than to as long as the spikelet, (1–)5-nerved. Lower floret neuter; lemma chartaceous, as long as the spikelet, usually ciliate or pubescent, usually 7-nerved; palea absent or inconspicuous. Upper floret hermaphrodite; lemma chartaceous, smooth; palea chartaceous, slightly as long as and similar to the lemma. Lodicules 2, membranous. Anthers 3, yellow or purple. Caryopsis ovoid, ellipsoid or oblong.

About 260 species, cosmopolitan, distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical regions, 23 species and one cultivated species (25 taxa) in Thailand.