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Descriptions

W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson

© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Themeda minor

HABIT Perennial. Culms geniculately ascending; 30–40 cm long. Lateral branches ample. Ligule a ciliolate membrane. Leaf-blades 3–8 cm long; 1–2 mm wide. Leaf-blade apex acuminate; filiform.

INFLORESCENCE Synflorescence compound; scanty. Inflorescence composed of racemes; terminal and axillary; subtended by a spatheole; enclosed. Spatheole linear, or lanceolate; 1.5 cm long; scarious.

Racemes 1; single; cuneate; 0.8–1.6 cm long; bearing few fertile spikelets; bearing 1–2 fertile spikelets on each. Rhachis fragile at the nodes.

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 oblong; tip oblique.

STERILE SPIKELETS Basal sterile spikelets well-developed; 4 in number; forming an involucre about the fertile; with normal internodes; subsessile; lanceolate; 5 mm long; larger than fertile. Basal sterile spikelet glumes tuberculate; pilose; lower glume muticous.

Companion sterile spikelets well-developed; containing empty lemmas, or male; lanceolate; 3 mm long; shorter than fertile; separately deciduous. Companion sterile spikelet callus oblong; truncate. Companion sterile spikelet glumes chartaceous. Companion sterile spikelet lemmas 2; enclosed by glumes.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic; subterete; 4 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus cuneate; base pungent; attached obliquely.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; exceeding apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume oblong; 1 length of spikelet; coriaceous; without keels. Upper glume oblong; coriaceous. Upper glume apex truncate.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; hyaline. Fertile lemma linear; hyaline; without keel; 1 -veined. Lemma apex entire; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn apical; straight; 4 mm long overall. Palea absent or minute.

DISTRIBUTION Asia-temperate: China.

NOTES Andropogoneae. Fl Xizang 1996.

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