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.

Chrysopogon nodulibarbis

HABIT Perennial; caespitose; clumped densely. Basal innovations flabellate. Culms erect; 50–120 cm long. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades flat, or conduplicate; 12–30 cm long; 2–4 mm wide; stiff. Leaf-blade surface pubescent, or pilose. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle with branches tipped by a raceme.

Panicle open; ovate; 8–18 cm long. Panicle branches villous (rufously); hairy at tip.

Racemes bearing a triad of spikelets, or few fertile spikelets; 1–3 fertile spikelets on each. Rhachis evident, or obsolete; fragile at the nodes; ciliate on margins. Rhachis hairs dark brown. Rhachis internodes linear.

Spikelets in pairs, or in threes. Fertile spikelets sessile; 1 in the cluster. Companion sterile spikelets pedicelled; 1 in the cluster, or 2 in the cluster. Pedicels linear; 0.66–0.75 length of fertile spikelet; villous; with dark brown hairs.

STERILE SPIKELETS Companion sterile spikelets well-developed; male; lanceolate; 7–15 mm long; longer than fertile; separately deciduous. Companion sterile spikelet glumes chartaceous; acuminate; muticous. Companion sterile spikelet lemmas enclosed by glumes; muticous.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets oblong; laterally compressed; 5–8 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus cuneate; 1–2 mm long; pilose; base acute. Spikelet callus hairs red.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; exceeding apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume oblong; 4–6 mm long; 1 length of spikelet; cartilaginous; without keels. Upper glume lanceolate; 1-keeled. Upper glume apex emarginate; mucronate.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret lanceolate; hyaline; 2 -veined. Fertile lemma oblong; hyaline; without keel. Lemma apex entire, or dentate; 2 -fid; emarginate; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn apical, or from a sinus; geniculate; 15–30 mm long overall; with twisted column. Column of lemma awn puberulous. Palea absent or minute.

DISTRIBUTION Asia-tropical: India.

NOTES Andropogoneae. WDC.

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