Species Of Eleusine Research Articles

Annotation and Identification of Phytochemicals from Eleusine indica Using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry: Databases-Driven Approach.

Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn is a perennial herb belonging to the Poaceae family. As the only species of Eleusine found abundantly in Malaysia, it is locally known as "rumput sambau" and has been traditionally used to treat various ailments including pain relief from vaginal bleeding, hastening the placenta delivery after childbirth, asthma, hemorrhoids, urinary infection, fever, and as a tonic for flu-related symptoms. A diverse array of biological activities have been reported for the plant, such as antimicrobial, cytotoxic, anticonvulsant, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antipyretic, and hepatoprotective action. Despite many reports on its traditional uses and biological activities, limited chemical databases are available for the plant. Thus, the aims of this study were to annotate and identify the phytochemical constituents in the methanolic extract of E. indica through tandem LCMS-based analysis techniques using MZmine, GNPS, Compound Discoverer, and SIRIUS platforms. This technique managed to identify a total of 65 phytochemicals in the extract, comprising primary and secondary metabolites, and was verified by the isolation of one of the identified phytochemicals. The structural elucidation mainly using 1D and 2D NMR as well as comparison with values in the literature confirms the isolated phytochemical to be a 3-OH anomer of loliolide, a benzofuran-type of compound, which consequently increases the level of confidence in the applied technique. The research describes a useful method for the fast and simultaneous identification of phytochemicals in E. indica, contributing to the study of the chemical properties of the genus and family.

Eleusine Indica for Food and Medicine

Eleusine indica, a perennial herb that belongs to the Poaceae family, is locally known as “rumput sambau”. The species can be found in the tropical regions and it is the only species of Eleusine in Malaysia. In India, some parts of the plant such as the roots and the seeds are used as food and can be eaten raw or cooked. The young seedling is also used as a side dish with rice, while the seeds are sometimes used as a famine food. Although this grass is not considered as food in Malaysia, the local people utilise it to treat various ailments such as hastening the placenta delivery after childbirth, pain relieve for vaginal bleeding, asthma, fever, urinary infection, haemorrhoids, and tonic for flu related symptoms. Due to wide spectrum of traditional usage, a complete review of E. indica which focusing on food and medicinal perspectives is necessary to organize and evaluate its potential for further studies and commercial exploitation. The information on the species was collected from scientific journals, books, and reports searched through available databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed, Directory of Open Access Journals, Science Direct, Bioline International, and Reaxys. Contextually, the present review reveals that apart from the roots, the plant is relatively safe to ingest. It represents a rich source of nutrients and contains therapeutic phytochemicals such as flavonoids, steroids, essential oils, cardiac glycosides, coumarins, fatty acids, anthraquinones, anthrones, triterpenes, tannins, and alkaloids. Thus, E. indica can be considered as a natural reservoir for both food and medicine.

Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Unique Relationships Among Eleusine Species and Heritage of Eleusine coracana.

Relationships in the genus Eleusine were obtained through transcriptome analysis. Eleusine coracana (E. coracana ssp. coracana), also known as finger millet, is an allotetraploid minor crop primarily grown in East Africa and India. Domesticated E. coracana evolved from wild E. africana (E. coracana ssp. africana) with the maternal genome donor largely supported to be E. indica; however, the paternal genome donor remains elusive. We developed transcriptomes for six Eleusine species from fully developed seedlings using Illumina technology and three de novo assemblers (Trinity, Velvet, and SOAPdenovo2) with the redundancy-reducing EvidentialGene pipeline. Mapping E. coracana reads to the chloroplast genes of all Eleusine species detected fewer variants between E. coracana and E. indica compared to all other species. Phylogenetic analysis further supports E. indica as the maternal parent of E. coracana and E. africana, in addition to a close relationship between E. indica and E. tristachya, and between E. floccifolia and E. multiflora, and E. intermedia as a separate group. A close relationship between E. floccifolia and E. multiflora was unexpected considering they are reported to have distinct nuclear genomes, BB and CC, respectively. Further, it was expected that E. intermedia and E. floccifolia would have a closer relationship considering they have similar nuclear genomes, AB and BB, respectively. A rethinking of the labeling of ancestral genomes of E. floccifolia, E. multiflora, and E. intermedia is maybe needed based on this data.

Inter-species Transferability of Microsatellite Markers Derived from Wild Relatives to Cultivated Species of Finger Millet

The accessibility to public sequence information has paved the way for development of new genomic resources and its cross transferability among closely related genera. In the present study, the nucleotide and EST sequences derived from nine different species of Eleusine were utilized for identifying microsatellite markers and their transferability in E. coracana. The frequency and distribution of repeat motifs of Di, tri, tetra and penta-nucleotide repeats were compared across species. The nucleotide/EST sequences, classified based on their function, were majorly involved in abiotic stress followed by carbohydrate biosynthesis in all the species. Of 2133 primers designed, tri-nucleotide repeats were more abundant (1043) followed by repeats in compound format (963). A highest number of 1660 primer pairs were identified in E. coracana subsp. coracana and nearly 50% of which contained compound repeats, majorly comprising of di-nucleotides. The frequency of microsatellite repeats and the number of primers designed per sequence were maximum in E. kigeziensis (138%) followed by E. floccifolia (126%) while the same was minimum in E. coracana subsp. africana (53%). While the transferability of microsatellites derived from other Eleusine species to cultivated coracana species ranged from 50 to 100%, the primers derived from cultivated species were more informative than from that of wild relatives.

Chloroplast genes as genetic markers for inferring patterns of change, maternal ancestry and phylogenetic relationships among Eleusine species.

Assessment of phylogenetic relationships is an important component of any successful crop improvement programme, as wild relatives of the crop species often carry agronomically beneficial traits. Since its domestication in East Africa, Eleusine coracana (2n = 4x = 36), a species belonging to the genus Eleusine (x = 8, 9, 10), has held a prominent place in the semi-arid regions of India, Nepal and Africa. The patterns of variation between the cultivated and wild species reported so far and the interpretations based upon them have been considered primarily in terms of nuclear events. We analysed, for the first time, the phylogenetic relationship between finger millet (E. coracana) and its wild relatives by species-specific chloroplast deoxyribonucleic acid (cpDNA) polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and chloroplast simple sequence repeat (cpSSR) markers/sequences. Restriction fragment length polymorphism of the seven amplified chloroplast genes/intergenic spacers (trnK, psbD, psaA, trnH-trnK, trnL-trnF, 16S and trnS-psbC), nucleotide sequencing of the chloroplast trnK gene and chloroplast microsatellite polymorphism were analysed in all nine known species of Eleusine. The RFLP of all seven amplified chloroplast genes/intergenic spacers and trnK gene sequences in the diploid (2n = 16, 18, 20) and allotetraploid (2n = 36, 38) species resulted in well-resolved phylogenetic trees with high bootstrap values. Eleusine coracana, E. africana, E. tristachya, E. indica and E. kigeziensis did not show even a single change in restriction site. Eleusine intermedia and E. floccifolia were also shown to have identical cpDNA fragment patterns. The cpDNA diversity in Eleusine multiflora was found to be more extensive than that of the other eight species. The trnK gene sequence data complemented the results obtained by PCR-RFLP. The maternal lineage of all three allotetraploid species (AABB, AADD) was the same, with E. indica being the maternal diploid progenitor species. The markers specific to certain species were also identified.

High polymorphism and resolution in targeted fingerprinting with combined β-tubulin introns

Tubulin-Based-Polymorphism (TBP) was originally introduced as a novel method for assaying genetic diversity in plants. TBP is based on polymorphism resulting from the PCR-mediated amplification of the first intron in the coding region of the β-tubulin gene family. Although, the method was successful in genetic assessment of some plant species and varieties, it suffered from low number of molecular markers due to limited variation in the first intron of β-tubulin gene family. We have now rectified this limitation by introducing the second intron of the β-tubulin genes as a valuable source of molecular markers. We show that the combined use of the two introns substantially increases the number of molecular markers and results in a reliable assessment of species/varieties relationships. After a preliminary validation on Brassica, this new combinatorial method was tested on species of Eleusine and Arachis. For both, reliable assessment of species relationships were obtained that were consistent with recently published studies resulting from more elaborated methods including DNA sequencing. Combinatorial TBP is a reliable, reproducible, simple, fast, and easy to score method that is very useful for breeding programs and species and variety assessments.

Genome Analysis of Finger Millet E. coracana by Interspecific Hybridization among Diploid Wild Species of Eleusine (Poaceae)

Four species of Eleusine viz. E. intermedia, E. floccifolia, E. indica and E. tristachya are wild diploid taxa (2n=2x=18) and are presumed to have contributed to the evolution of finger millet, E. coracana, the amphidiploid with AABB genome (2n=2x=36) and an important minor millet grown in Africa and South Asia. E. indica is known to have contributed the A genome to E. coracana, while the information regarding the other genome donor species is not forthcoming. The present investigations were undertaken to clearly understand the genome homology of 3 species viz. E. intermedia, E. floccifolia and E. tristachya vis-a-vis the A genome of E. indica and to analyze the interspecific relationship among these diploid species and their possible contribution to the evolution of E. coracana. Interspecific F1 hybrids of E. intermedia×E. indica, E. intermedia×E. floccifolia and E. tristachya×E. intermedia were produced and studied for morphological and cytological details. The experimental data revealed a high degree of homology at the interspecific level among all 4 species resulting in high frequency of bivalents and a very low frequency of univalents and multivalents. Inspite of good chromosome pairing and bivalent formation, a significant reduction in pollen stainability (8–32%) has been recorded in the F1 hybrids. The data obtained on chromosome associations at diakinesis/ metaphase I of meiosis suggest that these diploid species form a close genetic assemblage within the genus Eleusine. Various factors affecting the pollen stainability and seed fertility are discussed in the light of available information on the subject.

Genome Differentiation Patterns in Diploid Species of Elemine (Poaceae)

Three species of Eleusine viz. E. indica, E. tristachya (both annual), and E. floccifolia (perennial)are wild diploid taxa (x = 9) that display nine bivalents at diakinesis/metaphase I of meiosis and high pollen fertility and seed set. Interspecific F1 hybrids, E. indica ×E. floccifolia and E. tristachya ×E. indica, were analysed to investigate species genome affinity and crossing barriers. In E. indica ×E. floccifolia F1, the mean chromosome pairing was 0.38I + 8.78II + 0.008III + 0.004IV, and nearly 81% of the pollen mother cells contained nine bivalents, suggesting that genomes of E.indica and E. floccifolia are homologous/similar. Despite the regular meiosis, F1s were seed sterile. In E. tristachya × E. indica F1, the mean chromosome pairing was 0.191 8.87II % 0.0IIV, and about 89% of the pollen mother cells exhibited nine bivalents, and the F1s were partially fertile, indicating that genomes of E. tristachya and E. indica are also largely homologous. These pieces of cytogenetic information suggest that these three diploid species form a close genetic assemblage within the genus Eleusine. Barriers for gene exchange between these taxa, in nature, are discussed considering the available literature.

Mapping of rDNA on the chromosomes of Eleusine species by fluorescence in situ hybridization.

Mapping of rDNA sites on the chromosomes of four diploid and two tetraploid species of Eleusine has provided valuable information on genome relationship between the species. Presence of 18S-5.8S-26S rDNA on the largest pair of the chromosomes, location of 5S rDNA at four sites on two pairs of chromosomes and presence of 18S-5.8S-26S and 5S rDNA at same location on one pair of chromosomes have clearly differentiated E. multiflora from rest of the species of Eleusine. The two tetraploid species, E. coracana and E. africana have the same number of 18S-5.8S-26S and 5S rDNA sites and located at similar position on the chromosomes. Diploid species, E. indica, E. floccifolia and E. tristachya have the same 18S-5.8S-26S sites and location on the chromosomes which also resembled with the two pairs of 18S-5.8S-26S rDNA locations in tetraploid species, E. coracana and E. africana. The 5S rDNA sites on chromosomes of E. indica and E. floccifolia were also comparable to the 5S rDNA sites of E. africana and E. coracana. The similarity of the rDNA sites and their location on chromosomes in the three diploid and two polyploid species also supports the view that genome donors to tetraploid species may be from these diploid species.

Assessment of genome origins and genetic diversity in the genus Eleusine with DNA markers.

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana), an allotetraploid cereal, is widely cultivated in the arid and semiarid regions of the world. Three DNA marker techniques, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP), randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), and inter simple sequence repeat amplification (ISSR), were employed to analyze 22 accessions belonging to 5 species of Eleusine. An 8 probe--3 enzyme RFLP combination, 18 RAPD primers, and 6 ISSR primers, respectively, revealed 14, 10, and 26% polymorphism in 17 accessions of E. coracana from Africa and Asia. These results indicated a very low level of DNA sequence variability in the finger millets but did allow each line to be distinguished. The different Eleusine species could be easily identified by DNA marker technology and the 16% intraspecific polymorphism exhibited by the two analyzed accessions of E. floccifolia suggested a much higher level of diversity in this species than in E. coracana. Between species, E. coracana and E. indica shared the most markers, while E. indica and E. tristachya shared a considerable number of markers, indicating that these three species form a close genetic assemblage within the Eleusine. Eleusine floccifolia and E. compressa were found to be the most divergent among the species examined. Comparison of RFLP, RAPD, and ISSR technologies, in terms of the quantity and quality of data output, indicated that ISSRs are particularly promising for the analysis of plant genome diversity.

Evolution of finger millet: evidence from random amplified polymorphic DNA.

Finger millet (Eleusine coracana ssp. coracana) is an annual tetraploid member of a predominantly African genus. The crop is believed to have been domesticated from the tetraploid E. coracana ssp. africana. Cytogenetic and isozyme data point to the allopolyploid nature of the species and molecular information has shown E. indica to be one of the genomic donors. A recent isozyme study questioned the proposed phylogenetic relationship between finger millet and its direct ancestor subspecies africana. An approach using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) was employed in this study to examine genetic diversity and to evaluate hypotheses concerning the evolution of domesticated and wild annual species of Eleusine. Unlike previous molecular approaches, the RAPD study revealed genetic diversity in the crop. The pattern of genetic variation was loosely correlated to geographic distribution. The allotetraploid nature of the crop was confirmed and molecular markers that can possibly identify the other genomic donor were proposed. Genotypes of subspecies africana did not group closely with those of the crop but showed higher affinities to E. indica, reflecting the pattern of similarity revealed by the isozyme study. The multiple origin of subspecies africana could explain the discrepancy between the isozyme-RAPD evidence and previous information. The RAPD study showed the close genetic affinity of E. tristachya to the E. coracana--E. indica group and understood the distinctness of E. multiflora.

Isozymes of Eleusine (Gramineae) and the origin of finger millet

The predominantly African grass genus Eleusine comprises nine species, including diploids and tetraploids based on n = 8, 9, and 10. Among the polyploids are the important crop finger millet, Eleusine coracana subsp. coracana, and its putative wild ancestor, E. coracana subsp. africana. Eleusine coracana is believed to be an allotetraploid derived by hybridization between E. indica and an unknown diploid. To evaluate this hypothesis, 16 isozyme loci coding nine enzymes were compared among seven of the nine Eleusine species (E. intermedia and E. semisterilis were unavailable). Genetic variability differed substantially among diploid species, ranging from P = 0.563, A = 1.6, H = 0.208 in E. indica to P = 0.188, A = 1.2, H = 0.042 in E. jaegeri. The diploids tended to be genetically distinct, with values of Rogers' Similarity ranging from S = 0.294 (E. jaegeri/floccifolia) to S = 0.794 (E. indica/tristachya). Both subspecies of the tetraploid E. coracana exhibited fixed heterozygosity at several loci, verifying their hypothesized allotetraploid status. Both tetraploids also possessed E. indica marker alleles at all loci, corroborating ancestry by this taxon. Genotypes of the non‐indica ancestor, inferred separately for each tetraploid, differed substantially from all candidate diploids and also from each other. These data indicate that 1) none of the candidate diploids investigated is likely to have been the non‐indica ancestor of E. coracana, and 2) the non‐indica ancestor of the wild tetraploid may differ from that of the crop. The latter conclusion is inconsistent with the complete chromosomal homology exhibited between the two tetraploid subspecies, indicating the need for additional evidence bearing on their relationships.

Duplicate Gene Expression for Isocitrate Dehydrogenase and 6-Phosphogluconate Dehydrogenase in diploid Species of Eleusine (Gramineae)

Duplicate Gene Expression for Isocitrate Dehydrogenase and 6-Phosphogluconate Dehydrogenase in diploid Species of Eleusine (Gramineae)

DUPLICATE GENE EXPRESSION FOR ISOCITRATE DEHYDROGENASE AND 6‐PHOSPHOGLUCONATE DEHYDROGENASE IN DIPLOID SPECIES OF ELEUSINE (GRAMINEAE)

In the course of a survey of isozyme variation in the grass genus Eleusine, complex band patterns were observed for the enzymes isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) and 6‐phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (6PGD). These patterns were interpreted as the result of duplicate expression for one of the two genes that ordinarily codes subcellularly compartmentalized forms of each of these enzymes. The interpretation of IDH phenotypes was facilitated by intraspecific allelic variation at one of the putatively duplicated genes (Idh‐2), and was verified by examining phenotype ratios in progeny arrays from selfed heterozygotes of E. indica. The lack of analogous intraspecific variation for 6PGD precluded genetic tests, but the duplicate nature of expression was supported by interspecific patterns of variation. Four out of the five diploid species of Eleusine studied (E. indica, E. jaegeri, E. multiflora, E. tristachya) exhibited both duplications; E. floccifolia appeared to lack the IDH duplication, but possessed the 6PGD duplication. Both enzymes showed evidence of hyperduplication in the tetraploid species E. coracana.

The ‘A’ genome donor of Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn. (Gramineae)

In an attempt to discover 'A' and 'B' genome donor(s) to finger millet, Eleusine coracana, or its progenitor species, E. africana (both allotetraploid 2n=4x=36), five diploid species, E. Indica, E. Floccifolia, E. multiflora, E. tristachya and E. intermedia, were crossed to finger millet and its progenitor taxon. Crosses were successful only with E. coracana. Three combinations of triploid hybrids E. coracana x E. indica, E. coracana x E. floccifolia, and E. coracana x E. multiflora were obtained and analysed. Meiotic behaviour was perfectly normal in parental species. The regular number of 18 bivalents in E. coracana, 9 bivalents in E. indica, E. intermedia, E. tristachya and E. floccifolia and 8 bivalents in E. multiflora were invariably noticed. In E. coracana x E. indica hybrids a mean chromosome pairing of 8.84I+8.80II+0.03III+0.10IV per cell was found. About 86.5% of the cells showed the typical 9I+9II configuration, suggesting that E. indica (AA) is one of the diploid genome donors to cultivated species E. coracana. A mean chromosome pairing of 11.08I+7.63II+0.16III+0.04IV per cell was found in E. coracana x E. floccifolia hybrids. Two to ten bivalents and varying numbers of univalents were seen in 55% of the cells. About 45% of the cells showed the 9I+9II configuration. Various evidence suggests that perennial E. floccifolia is a primitive member of the 'A' genome group of Eleusine species, and it may not be a genome donor to E. coracana. In E. coracana x E. multiflora hybrids (2n=26) mean chromosome pairing of 21.45I+1.97II+0.13III+0.04IV per cell was found. About 91% of the cells were observed to have 20-26 univalents. Only a small percentage of the cells contained bivalents or multivalents. This pairing behaviour indicates that E. multiflora lacks genomic homology with the 'A' or 'B' genome of E. coracana. Genomically E. multiflora is a distinct species and a genomic symbol of 'C' is assigned to it. Identification of the 'B' genome donor species to cultivated millet. E. coracana remains elusive.

Quantitative nuclear DNA changes inEleusine (Gramineae)

2C nuclear DNA amounts were determined in 30 collections belonging to 10 species ofEleusine. About a 2.5-fold variation in genome size is evident in the genus. The 2C DNA amount in the diploid species ranged from 2.50 pg inE. verticillata to 3.35 pg inE. intermedia. In contrast, the tetraploid species showed a range from 4.95 pg inE. africana to 6.13 pg inE. floccifolia. At intraspecific level 10 collections ofE. coracana, 6 ofE. indica, 4 ofE. africana, 2 ofE. tristachya, and 2 ofE. kigeziensis did not show any significant variation. However, 2 collections ofE. floccifolia, connected with polyploidy, displayed about 90% variation. Polyploid species showed approximately double the genome size of that of their corresponding diploids. An evolutionary increase in DNA amount is evident inE. coracana during the course of its origin and domestication fromE. africana.

Effect of Artificial Selection on Grain Dormancy in Eleusine (Gramineae)

The effect of artificial selection on grain dormancy was studied in six populations belonging to three species of Eleusine. Selection was effective in all pop- ulations but to different degrees. Genes for non-dormancy approached fixation at the fourth generation in one population of E. indica. Threshed grains exhibited higher degrees of germination in all selection cycles when compared with non- threshed grains. This resulted from the presence of inhibitors in the lemma and palea. Populations of E. coracana subsp. africana underwent an occasional drop in germination. This was attributed to a concomitant selection of ill-adapted genes or to fluctuation in allele frequency. It was concluded that man probably eliminated dormancy in finger-millet under domestication within a relatively short time period, particularly in cultivars used for malting. In response to selection by man, cereals and other seed crops have undergone well-defined evolutionary changes during their domestica- tion. In general, these changes were toward larger inflorescences, larger seeds, higher seed number, more determinate growth, free threshing, loss of seed dormancy, and others (Harlan et al. 1973; de Wet 1975). These evolutionary trends have not yet been well-documented experi- mentally. In this paper the efficiency of artificial selection on seed dor- mancy was examined in order to assess the dimensions of this aspect of cereal domestication. MATERIALS AND METHODS Selection against dormancy was applied to three populations of Eleu- sine indica (L.) Gaertn., two of E. coracana subsp. africana (Kennedy- O'Byrne) Hilu & de Wet, and one of E. tristachya (Lam.) Lam. These species are annual wild relatives of the African cereal Eleusine coracana subsp. coracana (L.) Gaertn. (finger millet). They were used in this study because 1) Eleusine species have a short life cycle that is insensitive to day length and a high seed set per individual plant due to extensive tillering, 2) populations of the wild progenitor of finger millet, E. coracana subsp. africana, are extant, and 3) the crop is used for both brewing and bread- making and requires immediate seed germination after harvesting to produce malt. These taxa are predominantly self-pollinated with 1-3% outcrossing. Plant materials were obtained from wild stands (table 1) by Professors J. R. Harlan and J. M. J. de Wet of the University of Illinois. Two 500-grain samples were taken from a mixed collection of each pop- ulation. The size of this initial sample was determined by low frequency of non-dormant seeds in natural populations, the average seed set per individual plant, and our intention to establish population densities com-

ARCHAEOBOTANICAL STUDIES OF ELEUSINE CORACANA SSP. CORACANA (FINGER MILLET)

Two controversial archaeological specimens of finger millet, Eleusine coracana ssp. coracana (L.) Gaertn., were examined by light and scanning electron microscopy. Identification of the material was based on morphological and anatomical comparison with laboratory carbonized grains of modern Eleusine. Seed morphology of the Indian archaeological collection did not conform with those of domesticated or wild species of Eleusine. The other archaeological collection examined is from Ethiopia. It is estimated to date back to the third millennium B.C. These well preserved inflorescence fragments were positively identified as finger millet. If the suggested date is correct, they represent the oldest archaeological record for the crop, as well as the oldest agricultural record for Africa south of the Sahara. These findings support biosystematic evidence for an East African origin of finger millet which leaves India as a secondary center of diversity.

Archaeobotanical Studies of Eleusine coracana ssp. coracana (Finger Millet)

Two controversial archaeological specimens of finger millet, Eleusine coracana ssp. coracana (L.) Gaertn., were examined by light and scanning electron microscopy. Identification of the material was based on morphological and anatomical comparison with laboratory carbonized grains of modern Eleusine. Seed morphology of the Indian archaeological collection did not conform with those of domesticated or wild species of Eleusine. The other archaeological collection examined is from Ethiopia. It is estimated to date back to the third millennium B.C. These well preserved inflorescence fragments were positively identified as finger millet. If the suggested date is correct, they represent the oldest archaeological record for the crop, as well as the oldest agricultural record for Africa south of the Sahara. These findings support biosystematic evidence for an East African origin of finger millet which leaves India as a secondary center of diversity.

A Survey of the Genus Eleusine Gaertn. (Gramineae) in Africa

Eight African species of Eleusine are recognized in this paper, the majority being localised in parts of East and North East Tropical Africa. Each species is described and a key is provided. Eleusine africana Kenn.-O'Byrne is reduced to a subspecies of E. indica (L.) Gaertn., and E. indica (L.) Gaertn. var. intermedia Chiov. is raised to specific rank as E. intermedia (Chiov.) Phillips. Two new species are also described: E. semisterilis Phillips from Kenya and E. ki~geziensis Phillips from southwest Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and adjacent parts of the Congo.