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.

Homozeugos katakton

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Culms erect; 100–150 cm long. Culm-nodes bearded. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface. Leaf-sheath auricles erect; 10–25 mm long. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 10–25 mm long. Leaf-blades linear; flat, or convolute; 30–60 cm long; 2–6 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface glabrous, or pilose. Leaf-blade apex attenuate; filiform.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.

Racemes 3–4; digitate; 10–20 cm long. Rhachis fragile at the nodes; subterete; setose on margins. Rhachis hairs white. Rhachis internodes filiform; 8–12 mm long. Rhachis internode tip oblique; flat.

Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets sessile and pedicelled; 2 in the cluster; subequal. Pedicels filiform; ciliate; tip oblique.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets linear; subterete; 10–14 mm long; falling entire; deciduous from the base, or with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus cuneate; 3–4 mm long; pilose; base pungent; attached obliquely.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; exceeding apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume oblong; 7–10 mm long; 0.8 length of spikelet; coriaceous; much thinner above; without keels; keel-less except near apex; 9–11 -veined. Lower glume surface villous. Lower glume apex obtuse. Upper glume lanceolate; 1 length of spikelet; coriaceous; 3 -veined. Upper glume surface pilose; hairy above.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; 0.9 length of spikelet; hyaline; 2 -veined; ciliolate on margins. Fertile lemma linear; hyaline; without keel; 1 -veined. Lemma margins ciliate. Lemma apex dentate; 2 -fid; with linear lobes; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn from a sinus; geniculate; 35–60 mm long overall; with twisted column. Column of lemma awn hirtellous. Palea 0.1 length of lemma.

FLOWER Anthers 3.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: southern tropical.

NOTES Andropogoneae. WDC.

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