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.

Sasaella ramosa

HABIT Perennial. Rhizomes elongated; leptomorph. Culms erect; 100–200 cm long; 4–8 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; distally glabrous, or pubescent. Culm-nodes glabrous, or pubescent. Lateral branches dendroid. Bud complement 1. Branch complement one; solitary; as thick as stem. Culm-sheaths persistent; glabrous; without auricles. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface. Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades lanceolate, or oblong; 17–25 cm long; 25–35 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface pubescent; densely hairy; hairy abaxially, or on both sides. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle.

Panicle open; oblong; 10 cm long.

Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 6–11 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets linear; laterally compressed; 40–50 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Rhachilla internodes 5 mm long; pubescent.

GLUMES Glumes persistent; dissimilar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume linear; 1–2 mm long; scarious; without keels. Lower glume apex acuminate. Upper glume lanceolate; 4–6 mm long; scarious; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume apex acuminate.

FLORETS Fertile lemma ovate; 12–14 mm long; chartaceous; without keel; 13–15 -veined. Lemma lateral veins with cross-veins. Lemma margins ciliate; hairy above. Lemma apex acuminate. Palea 0.9 length of lemma; 13 -veined. Palea keels ciliate; adorned above; with 0.5 of their length adorned. Palea apex with excurrent keel veins. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

FLOWER Lodicules 3; ovate; 2–2.5 mm long; veined; ciliate; obtuse. Anthers 6; 5 mm long. Stigmas 3.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; apex unappendaged.

DISTRIBUTION Europe: northern. Asia-temperate: eastern Asia. Australasia: New Zealand.

NOTES Arundinarieae. Ind. Jap. Bam. 2001.

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