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.

Pseudosorghum fasciculare

HABIT Annual. Culms decumbent; 60–150 cm long. Ligule a ciliolate membrane. Leaf-blades 30–50 cm long; 4–8 mm wide.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle with branches tipped by a raceme.

Panicle open; oblong; dense; 2.5–12 cm long. Primary panicle branches 0.1–1 cm long.

Racemes 0.6–3 cm long; bearing few fertile spikelets; bearing 3–6 fertile spikelets on each. Rhachis fragile at the nodes; ciliate on margins. Rhachis internodes filiform; 2–3 mm long. Rhachis internode tip transverse.

Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets sessile; 1 in the cluster. Companion sterile spikelets pedicelled; 1 in the cluster. Pedicels filiform; 2–3 mm long; without a translucent median line; ciliate; tip rectangular.

STERILE SPIKELETS Companion sterile spikelets well-developed; comprising 2 subequal glumes without lemmas; lanceolate; 3.5–4 mm long; shorter than fertile; separately deciduous. Companion sterile spikelet glumes herbaceous; 7 -veined; acuminate.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; dorsally compressed; 4–5 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus pilose; base obtuse; attached transversely.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; reaching apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma; shiny. Lower glume lanceolate; 1 length of spikelet; cartilaginous; without keels; 7–9 -veined. Lower glume surface glabrous. Lower glume apex truncate. Upper glume elliptic; cartilaginous; without keels; keel-less except near apex; 5–7 -veined.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets male; with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret lanceolate; 1 length of spikelet; hyaline; 2 -veined; ciliate on margins. Fertile lemma lanceolate; hyaline. Lemma margins ciliate. Lemma apex lobed; 2 -fid; incised 0.4 of lemma length; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn from a sinus; geniculate; 8–15 mm long overall; with twisted column. Column of lemma awn glabrous. Palea absent or minute.

FLOWER Lodicules 2; glabrous.

DISTRIBUTION Asia-temperate: China. Asia-tropical: India and Indo-China.

NOTES Andropogoneae. WDC.

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