Alloteropsis semialata

Alloteropsis semialata, known commonly as black seed grass, cockatoo grass, donkersaad gras, swartsaadgras, tweevingergras, and isi quinti, is a perennial grass found in tropical regions of Asia, Africa, Madagascar, and Australasia.

This plant typically reaches 20–150 centimetres (8–59 in) tall, growing from a short, white rhizome.^[2] The leaf blades are typically 10–50 cm (4–19+1⁄2 in) long and 1–10 millimetres (1⁄16–3⁄8 in) wide. The plant produces 2-flowered fertile spikelets.^[3]

The genus name Allopteropsis comes from the Greek words "allotrios", meaning "belonging to another", and "opsis", meaning appearance. The specific epithet semialata comes from the Latin "semi" (half) and "ala" (wing), referring to the winged margins of the upper glume.^[4]

The species has two subspecies including A. semialata subsp. semialata, which uses the C4 photosynthetic pathway, and A. semialata subsp. eckloniana, which uses the C3 photosynthetic pathway.^[5] As the only plant species known to use both pathways, it is an important model for the study of the evolution of photosynthesis. There are a wide range of intermediate phenotypes, including that of C2 photosynthesis.^[6]

The species has been found in a polyploid series with diploid, tetraploid, hexaploid, octoploid and dodecaploid individuals. All members of the C3 subspecies are diploid and there are no diploid individuals outside of that subspecies.^[7]

ينتشر هذا النوع في معظم أنحاء آسيا الاستوائية وشبه الاستوائية ، وأفريقيا، ومدغشقر ، وأستراليا، وبابواسيا . ^{[ 1 ] [ 8 ] [ 9 ]}

تُعدّ بذور هذا النوع مكونًا هامًا في النظام الغذائي للعديد من العصافير والببغاوات آكلة الحبوب خلال موسم الأمطار. أما جذوره فتُشكّل جزءًا من النظام الغذائي لبعض الحيوانات خلال موسم الجفاف. ^{[ 4 ]}