Taxon: Digitaria insularis (L.) Fedde

Summary

Genus:

Digitaria

Family:

Poaceae (alt. Gramineae)

Subfamily:

Panicoideae

Tribe:

Paniceae

Subtribe:

Anthephorinae

Nomen number:

14028

Place of publication:

Just's Bot. Jahresber. 31(1):778. 1904 (Mez ex E. Ekman, Ark. Bot. 9(4):17. 1912)

Protologue link:

https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2181553

Verified:

06/30/2000 ARS Systematic Botanists.

Accessions:

12 (3 active, 2 available) in National Plant Germplasm System. (Map it)

Other conspecific taxa

Autonyms (not in current use), synonyms and invalid designations

Basionym
Andropogon insularis L.

Homotypic Synonym(s)
Trichachne insularis (L.) Nees
Valota insularis (L.) Chase

Heterotypic Synonym(s)
Panicum leucophaeum Kunth

No images

Conservation Status

Reference(s)

University of Georgia Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health
Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
APHIS. Agricultural Risk Management System United States Department of Agriculture.
Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
Catasús Guerra, L. J. 2002. Las gramíneas (Poaceae) de Cuba, II. Cavanillesia Altera 3:1-163.
Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman; = Trichachne insularis (L.) Nees
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
de Carvalho, L. B. et al. 2011. Detection of sourgrass (Digitaria insularis) biotypes resistant to glyphosate in Brazil. Weed Sci. 59:171-176. DOI: 10.1614/WS-D-10-00113.1 .
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
Hitchcock, A. S. 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States, ed. 2. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman; = Trichachne insularis (L.) Nees
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
Lazarides, M. 1980. The tropical grasses of Southeast Asia Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
Liogier, H. A. & L. F. Martorell. 1982. Flora of Puerto Rico and adjacent islands: a systematic synopsis. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez
Lo Medico, J. M. et al. 2017. Phylogeny of Digitaria sections Trichachne and Trichophorae (Poaceae, Panicoideae, Paniceae): A morphological and molecular analysis. New circumscription and synopsis. Syst. Bot. 42:37-53. www.aspt.net/systematic-botany
McVaugh, R. 1983-. Flora Novo-Galiciana. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.

Common names

Language	Name	note	seq	Citation
English	sour grass	as Trichachne insularis	1	Hitchcock, A. S. 1950. Manual of the grasses of the United States, ed. 2. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman; = Trichachne insularis (L.) Nees
Spanish	barba de indio		2	Catasús Guerra, L. J. 2002. Las gramíneas (Poaceae) de Cuba, II. Cavanillesia Altera 3:1-163.
Spanish	rabo de zorra		2	Catasús Guerra, L. J. 2002. Las gramíneas (Poaceae) de Cuba, II. Cavanillesia Altera 3:1-163.

Distribution

order_code	Status	Continent	Subcontinent	Country	State	Note	Reference
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Baja California (Norte)		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Chihuahua		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Coahuila de Zaragoza		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Durango		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Nuevo León		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	San Luis Potosí		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sinaloa		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Sonora		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Tamaulipas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Northern Mexico	Mexico	Zacatecas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	South-Central U.S.A.	United States	Texas		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southeastern U.S.A.	United States	Florida		FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Aguascalientes		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Campeche		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Chiapas		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Colima		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guanajuato		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Guerrero		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Hidalgo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Jalisco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	México		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Michoacán de Ocampo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Morelos		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Nayarit		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Oaxaca		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Puebla		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Querétaro		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Quintana Roo		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Tabasco		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southern Mexico	Mexico	Yucatán		Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
1	Native	Northern America	Southwestern U.S.A.	United States	Arizona	s.	FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
1	Native	Southern America	Brazil	Brazil
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Antigua and Barbuda	Antigua		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Bahamas			Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman; = Trichachne insularis (L.) Nees
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Cuba
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Grenada			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Guadeloupe			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Hispaniola
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Jamaica			Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Martinique			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Montserrat			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Netherlands Antilles	Saba
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	Netherlands Antilles	St. Eustatius
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	St. Kitts and Nevis			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	St. Lucia			Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	St. Vincent and Grenadines	Saint Vincent		Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
1	Native	Southern America	Caribbean	United States	Puerto Rico
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Belize			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Costa Rica			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	El Salvador
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Guatemala			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Honduras			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Nicaragua			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Central America	Panama			Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	French Guiana			Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Guyana			Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Suriname			Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
1	Native	Southern America	Northern South America	Venezuela
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Argentina			Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Paraguay
1	Native	Southern America	Southern South America	Uruguay			Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Bolivia
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Colombia
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Ecuador			Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
1	Native	Southern America	Western South America	Peru			Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
4	Naturalized					widely natzd. elsewhere

Native
Northern America

SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Florida]
SOUTH-CENTRAL U.S.A.: United States [Texas]
SOUTHWESTERN U.S.A.: United States [Arizona (s.)]
NORTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chihuahua, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Durango, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tamaulipas, Zacatecas, Baja California (Norte)]
SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Aguascalientes, Campeche, Chiapas, Colima, Guanajuato, Guerrero, Hidalgo, Jalisco, México, Michoacán de Ocampo, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, Puebla, Querétaro, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, Yucatán]

Southern America

CARIBBEAN: Hispaniola, Netherlands Antilles [Saba, St. Eustatius], Antigua and Barbuda [Antigua], Bahamas, Cuba, Guadeloupe, Grenada, Jamaica, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, Montserrat, Martinique, United States [Puerto Rico], St. Vincent and Grenadines [Saint Vincent]
CENTRAL AMERICA: Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, El Salvador
NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
BRAZIL: Brazil
WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru
SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay

Naturalized (widely natzd. elsewhere)

Reference(s)

Adams, C. 1972. Flowering plants of Jamaica Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi. 1993. Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45
Correll, D. S. & H. B. Correll. 1982. Flora of the Bahama archipelago. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman; = Trichachne insularis (L.) Nees
Davidse, G. et al., eds. 1994. Flora mesoamericana.
FNA Editorial Committee. 1993-. Flora of North America.
Görts-van Rijn, A. R. A., ed. 1986-. Flora of the Guianas. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
Howard, R. 1974-1989. Flora of the lesser Antilles. Note: lists as Digitaria insularis (L.) Mez ex E. Ekman
Jørgensen, P. M. & S. León-Yánez, eds. 1999. Catalogue of the vascular plants of Ecuador. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 75
Villaseñor, J. L. 2016. Checklist of the native vascular plants of Mexico. Rev. Mex. Biodivers. 87:845.
Zuloaga, F. O. & O. Morrone, eds. 1996, 1999. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares de la República Argentina. I. Pteridophyta, Gymnospermae y Angiospermae (Monocotyledonae), II. Dicotyledonae. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 60, 74.

Economic Uses

Usage	Type	Note	Reference
Weed			de Carvalho, L. B. et al. 2011. Detection of sourgrass (Digitaria insularis) biotypes resistant to glyphosate in Brazil. Weed Sci. 59:171-176. DOI: 10.1614/WS-D-10-00113.1 .

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2026. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN Taxonomy). National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
URL: https://npgstest.ars-grin.gov/gringlobal/taxon/taxonomydetail?id=14028. Accessed 17 April 2026.