First report of Digitaria violascens in Belgium
Digitaria violascens (Poaceae) is a C4 grass which has a widespread global distribution. It is native to Asia and parts of Australia. In the EPPO region, it is possibly native to Türkiye. In Europe, historically, it has been recorded as an established alien plant in France and Italy. In more recent years, D. violascens has been recorded in Portugal and Spain. D. violascens can be confused with the congener D. ischaemum leading potentially to D. violascens being under recorded in the EPPO region. In these countries, it is recorded as species in lawns, transportation networks (road verges), riparian habitats and fallow land. In Belgium, D. violascens was previously only known from a single record as a grain contaminant in the port of Antwerpen. In 2023, a large population (several dozen metres) was recorded at the edge of a maize (Zea mays) field in Aalter. Due to the size of the population, it is likely that it had been there for several years. Following harvesting of the maize in the autumn 2023, another survey was conducted and D. violascens was recorded throughout the field.
Sources
Hoste I, Verloove F (2026) Digitaria violascens, a new species of C4 grass in maize fields in Belgium. Dumortiera 128, 3-7.