GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora

Descriptions

W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson

© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Bothriochloa springfieldii

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Culms 30–80 cm long. Culm-nodes bearded (3–7mm hairs). Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 1–2 mm long. Leaf-blades 2–3 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface glabrous, or pilose; hairy adaxially; with tubercle-based hairs.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.

Racemes 2–9; digitate; 4–7 cm long. Rhachis fragile at the nodes; flattened; plumose on margins. Rhachis hairs 5–10 mm long. Rhachis internodes linear. Rhachis internode tip transverse.

Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets sessile; 1 in the cluster. Companion sterile spikelets pedicelled; 1 in the cluster. Pedicels linear; flattened; with a translucent median line (also present in internodes); plumose; with 5–10 mm long hairs.

STERILE SPIKELETS Companion sterile spikelets well-developed; comprising 2 subequal glumes without lemmas; linear; 4–5 mm long; shorter than fertile.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic; dorsally compressed; 5.5–7.3 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus base obtuse; attached transversely.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; exceeding apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume elliptic; 1 length of spikelet; cartilaginous; without keels; keel-less except near apex. Lower glume surface flat; pilose; hairy below. Upper glume lanceolate; 1-keeled.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; hyaline. Fertile lemma linear; hyaline; without keel. Lemma apex entire; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn apical; geniculate; 20–26 mm long overall; with twisted column. Column of lemma awn glabrous. Palea absent or minute.

FLOWER Anthers 3.

DISTRIBUTION North America: southwest USA, south-central USA, and Mexico. South America: western South America and southern South America.

NOTES Andropogoneae. Gr Tex 1993.

Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.