New! - Search other data sources for Chloris roxburghiana

Help - Wrong Description?

Kew Data Sources

Kew's Herbarium Catalogue
ePIC - Electronic Plant Information Centre

External Data Sources

Note - this takes you off of our website
Use your browser's back button to return to this page

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.

Chloris roxburghiana

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Basal innovations flabellate. Culms geniculately ascending, or decumbent; 100–150 cm long. Leaf-sheaths keeled. Ligule a ciliolate membrane. Leaf-blades flat, or conduplicate; 10–40 cm long; 2–10 mm wide. Leaf-blade apex attenuate.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.

Racemes numerous; borne along a central axis; closely spaced; in a multilateral false spike; appressed; unilateral; 3–8 cm long. Central inflorescence axis 6–18 cm long. Spikelet packing broadside to rhachis.

Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets sessile.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets cuneate; laterally compressed; 1.5–2 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus pilose; obtuse.

GLUMES Glumes persistent; similar; exceeding apex of florets; thinner than fertile lemma; gaping. Lower glume lanceolate; 1–1.5 mm long; 0.5 length of upper glume; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate; 2–2.8 mm long; 1.3–1.4 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Fertile lemma elliptic; laterally compressed; elliptic in profile (narrowly); 1.5–2 mm long; cartilaginous; pallid; keeled; 3 -veined. Lemma midvein ciliate. Lemma lateral veins close to margins. Lemma margins ciliate. Lemma apex obtuse; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn subapical; 8–17 mm long overall. Apical sterile florets 2–3 in number; barren; separate; elliptic. Apical sterile lemmas awned; 1 -awned. Apical sterile lemma awns subapical; 2–3 per spikelet in number.

FLOWER Lodicules 2; cuneate; fleshy. Anthers 3. Stigmas 2.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; trigonous. Hilum punctiform.

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

NOTES Cynodonteae. FTEA.

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