Fingerhuthia africana ripe seeds being dispersed

As every grass floret turns into fruit and its seed ripens, the Fingerhuthia africana inflorescence disintegrates, releasing seeds for starting lives of their own as best they can. New life is a percentage game for all species.

Needle-like awns on the spikelet bracts, the glumes and lemmas, protrude everywhere. Where the inflorescence stalk is rid of its spikelets, it displays the spaced ridges occurring on the terete central cylinder (Van Oudtshoorn, et al, 1991).