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.

Paspalum veredense

HABIT Perennial; caespitose; clumped densely. Rhizomes short. Culms erect; 70–110 cm long; 2 mm diam.; 3–4 -noded. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; distally glabrous. Culm-nodes brown. Lateral branches lacking. Leaves without demarcation between sheath and blade. Leaf-sheaths 7–12 cm long; keeled; striately veined; glabrous on surface, or hirsute; outer margin hairy. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 0.7 mm long; obtuse. Leaf-blades aciculate; terete; elliptic in section; 40–65 cm long; 1–1.5 mm wide; glaucous. Leaf-blade surface glabrous; hairless except near base. Leaf-blade apex pungent.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes. Peduncle 25–40 cm long; glabrous.

Racemes 2–6; paired, or digitate; flexuous; unilateral; 4.5–11.5 cm long. Central inflorescence axis 2–6 cm long; tip without extension, or with blunt extension. Rhachis wingless; angular; 0.7–0.9 mm wide; scabrous on surface. Spikelet packing contiguous; 2 -rowed. Raceme-bases hirsute.

Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels oblong; 0.5–1 mm long; puberulous.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets ovate; dorsally compressed; plano-convex; 3.8–4.8 mm long; 1.2–1.4 mm wide; falling entire.

GLUMES Glumes one the lower absent or obscure; reaching apex of florets; thinner than fertile lemma. Upper glume ovate; 3.7–4.6 mm long; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; glaucous; without keels; 5 -veined. Upper glume surface wrinkled. Upper glume margins ciliate. Upper glume hairs white; 1–2 mm long. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to upper glume; elliptic; 3.7–4.6 mm long; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; wrinkled. Fertile lemma elliptic; gibbous; 3.5–3.8 mm long; 1.2–1.5 mm wide; coriaceous; pallid; without keel; 3 -veined. Lemma surface papillose. Lemma margins involute. Lemma apex acute. Palea embraced by lemma; involute; coriaceous.

FLOWER Lodicules 2. Anthers 3; 1.8 mm long; purple.

DISTRIBUTION South America: Brazil.

NOTES Paniceae. Rua et al 2009.

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