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.

Coelorachis parodiana

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Basal innovations flabellate. Culms erect; 100–150 cm long. Culm-internodes elliptical in section. Leaf-sheaths keeled. Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 2 mm long. Leaf-blades 40–50 cm long; 4–5 mm wide. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes; terminal and axillary; embraced at base by subtending leaf.

Racemes 1; single; smoothly terete; 8–15 cm long. Rhachis fragile at the nodes; semiterete. Rhachis internodes cuneate; 4–6 mm long. Rhachis internode tip transverse; flat.

Spikelets sunken; in pairs. Fertile spikelets sessile; 1 in the cluster, or 2 in the cluster (in lower pairs). Companion sterile spikelets pedicelled; 0 in the cluster (in lower pairs), or 1 in the cluster. Pedicels columnar, or oblong; unequal (the proximal very short); 0.5–5 mm long; 0.1–1 length of fertile spikelet; tip rectangular.

STERILE SPIKELETS Companion sterile spikelets well-developed (in the middle), or rudimentary (distally); male, or comprising 2 subequal glumes without lemmas; oblong, or ovate; dorsally compressed; 1–6 mm long; shorter than fertile; deciduous with the fertile, or separately deciduous. Companion sterile spikelet glumes winged on keels. Companion sterile spikelet lemmas 0–2; enclosed by glumes.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets oblong; dorsally compressed; 5–6 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus base truncate; simple; attached transversely.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; exceeding apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume oblong; 1 length of spikelet; coriaceous; 2-keeled; winged on keel; winged narrowly; winged above. Lower glume surface convex; areolate. Lower glume apex emarginate. Upper glume oblong; chartaceous; 1-keeled; 3 -veined. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; hyaline; obtuse. Fertile lemma elliptic; hyaline; without keel; 0–1 -veined. Lemma apex obtuse. Palea hyaline.

FLOWER Anthers 3; 1–1.5 mm long.

DISTRIBUTION South America: southern South America.

NOTES Andropogoneae. Quarin.

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