Digitaria abyssinica (Hochst. ex A. Rich.) Stapf (Afr.) – An exceptional and ephemeral alien. Recorded once on a demolition site in Overpelt in 2012 (grown to maturity indoors in 2013). This species grew along with, among others, Caylusea abyssinica, Eleusine indica, Solanum rostratum, etc. and was possibly introduced with birdseed waste. This assumption was reinforced by the growing experiments of Hanson (2019). Digitaria abyssinica, which is the commonest agricultural weed in Ethiopia, was raised several times from Niger seed in the U.K. in the past years.
Digitaria abyssinica is a widespread weed of arable land in Africa and is also known as an introduction in parts of South America, Australasia and also in Arabia and India.
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Selected literature
Hanson G. (2019) Birdseed aliens originating from Niger (Guizotia abyssinica) wild bird food. British and Irish Botany 1(4): 292-308. [available online at: https://britishandirishbotany.org/index.php/bib/article/view/35]