SafePlants

Brachiaria serrata

Brachiaria serrata, also known as Red Top Grass or Velvet Signal Grass, is a perennial grass belonging to the Poaceae family.

Considerations for Pets

• The leaves have thickened serrated (saw-like) margins.
• The spikelets are densely covered in reddish hairs.

Taxonomy and Nomenclature

• Scientific Name: Brachiaria serrata (Thunb.) Stapf
• Family: Poaceae (Grass family)
• Kingdom: Not specified in text, but implicitly Plantae.
• Synonyms:
  • Brachiaria serrata (Thunb.) Stapf var. serrata
  • Brachiaria serrata (Thunb.) Stapf var. gossypina (A. Rich.) Stapf
  • Brachiaria brachylopha Stapf
  • Brachiaria serrata var. gossypina (T.Durand &amp Schinz) Stapf

Distribution and Habitat

Brachiaria serrata is found in southern Africa. Specifically mentioned regions include:

• Botswana (BOT)
• Lesotho (LES)
• Namibia (NAM)
• Eastern Cape (EC), Free State (FS), Gauteng (GA), KwaZulu-Natal (KN), Limpopo (LP), Mpumalanga (MP), Northern Cape (NC), North West (NW), Western Cape (WC), Swaziland (SWZ) in South Africa
• Zimbabwe.
• Grows in transition shrub savanna and open sveld grassland, often on rock outcrops.

Morphological Characteristics

• It is a densely or loosely tufted, rhizomatous perennial grass.
• Typically grows to a height of 300-750 mm, but can reach up to 1 meter.
• Culms (stems) are 20-100 cm long.
• Leaves are basal, short, narrowly lanceolate, glabrous to softly pilose, with thickened, serrated margins. Leaf-blades are 5-25 cm long and 2-10 mm wide.
• The ligule (a membrane or fringe of hairs on the inner side of the leaf sheath) is a fringe of hairs.
• Basal sheaths are villous or woolly.
• Spikelets are densely covered in reddish hairs.

Ecology

• Brachiaria serrata can become more abundant on fire-breaks.

Further Information

Additional information can be found at:

• Biodiversity Explorer (Biodiversity of southern Africa)
• Flora of Zimbabwe
• GrassBase