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Descriptions

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

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

Brachypodium flexum

HABIT Perennial; culms solitary, or mat forming. Culms decumbent; 30–100 cm long; wiry; rooting from lower nodes. Culm-internodes scaberulous. Culm-nodes pubescent. Leaf-sheaths scaberulous; glabrous on surface, or pilose. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 1 mm long. Leaf-blades 5–17 cm long; 2–6 mm wide; flaccid. Leaf-blade surface scabrous; rough abaxially; pilose; sparsely hairy; hairy adaxially.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.

Racemes 1; single; drooping, or erect; bilateral; 4–15 cm long; bearing few fertile spikelets; bearing 3–9 fertile spikelets on each. Rhachis glabrous on surface; scabrous on margins. Spikelet packing broadside to rhachis; lax; 1.5 their length apart; 2 -rowed.

Spikelets ascending; solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels oblong; 1.5 mm long.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 6–12 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets lanceolate; laterally compressed; 15–30 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.

GLUMES Glumes persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; (3–)4–8 mm long; 0.9–1 length of upper glume; membranous; without keels; (3–)4–5 -veined. Lower glume apex acute, or acuminate. Upper glume lanceolate; 4–10 mm long; 0.5–1 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; without keels; 7 -veined. Upper glume apex acute, or acuminate.

FLORETS Fertile lemma lanceolate; (5–)7–11 mm long; without keel; 7 -veined. Lemma surface scaberulous; glabrous, or pubescent, or pilose. Lemma apex acute; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn apical; 4–8 mm long overall. Palea keels ciliolate. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

FLOWER Anthers 3; 3 mm long. Ovary with a fleshy appendage below style insertion; pubescent on apex.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; hairy at apex; apex fleshy. Hilum linear; 1 length of caryopsis.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: west tropical, west-central tropical, northeast tropical, east tropical, southern tropical, south, and western Indian ocean. Asia-temperate: Arabia.

NOTES Brachypodieae. FTEA.

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