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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.
Sarocalamus racemosus
HABIT Perennial; culms solitary. Rhizomes elongated; leptomorph. Culms erect; 60–120 cm long; 5–10 mm diam.; woody; with aerial roots from the nodes. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; 5–10 cm long; yellow. Lateral branches dendroid. Branch complement several; with subequal branches; thinner than stem. Culm-sheaths 6–10 cm long; 4–5 times as long as wide; yellow; glabrous, or puberulous; hairy above; without auricles; ciliate on shoulders. Culm-sheath blade linear; 0.5–1.5 cm long; scabrid. Leaf-sheaths striately veined; pubescent. Leaf-sheath oral hairs ciliate. Ligule an eciliate membrane; pubescent on abaxial surface. Leaf-blade base without a false petiole, or with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades linear, or lanceolate; 3–10 cm long; 5–10 mm wide. Leaf-blade venation with 6 secondary veins; with distinct cross veins. Leaf-blade surface hirsute; hairy abaxially. Leaf-blade margins scabrous.
INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.
Racemes 1; single; bearing few fertile spikelets; bearing 3–6 fertile spikelets on each. Rhachis glabrous on surface.
Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels filiform; 10–30 mm long.
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 4–6 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong; laterally compressed; 30–50 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Rhachilla internodes elongated between glumes and elongated below proximal fertile floret; clavate; 5–6 mm long; eventually visible between lemmas.
GLUMES Glumes persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; 2–3.5 mm long; chartaceous; without keels. Lower glume apex acuminate. Upper glume elliptic; 2–3.5 mm long; chartaceous; without keels. Upper glume apex acuminate.
FLORETS Fertile lemma ovate; 6–8 mm long; chartaceous; without keel; 7–9 -veined. Lemma surface pubescent. Lemma apex setaceously attenuate. Palea 1 length of lemma. Palea keels ciliolate; adorned above. Palea apex with excurrent keel veins. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
FLOWER Lodicules 3; 1.5–2 mm long; veined; ciliate. Anthers 3; 5 mm long; purple. Stigmas 3.
FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; oblong; sulcate on hilar side; apex unappendaged.
DISTRIBUTION Asia-temperate: China. Asia-tropical: India.
NOTES Arundinarieae. Gamble 1995.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
