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Descriptions

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

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

Echinochloa esculenta

HABIT Annual. Culms erect; robust; 80–150 cm long; 4–10 mm diam. Ligule absent. Leaf-blades 10–50 cm long; 10–30 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface scaberulous; glabrous. Leaf-blade margins scaberulous. Leaf-blade apex acute.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.

Racemes 10–30; borne along a central axis; closely spaced (inflorescence lanceolate); straight, or arcuate, or incurved; unilateral; 0.5–7 cm long; simple, or secondarily branched. Central inflorescence axis 8–25 cm long; hispid. Rhachis angular. Spikelet packing crowded; irregular; 4–6 -rowed.

Spikelets in pairs, or clustered at each node. Fertile spikelets sessile; 2–4 in the cluster.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets ovate, or obovate; dorsally compressed; compressed slightly; gibbous; cuspidate; 3–4 mm long; 2–2.5 mm wide; persistent on plant.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; reaching apex of florets; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 0.3–0.4 length of spikelet; membranous; red, or purple; without keels; 3–5 -veined. Lower glume surface hispidulous. Lower glume apex acuminate. Upper glume ovate; membranous; red, or purple; without keels; 3–7 -veined. Upper glume surface hispidulous. Upper glume apex cuspidate; muticous, or awned; 1 -awned.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to upper glume; ovate; 1 length of spikelet; membranous, or chartaceous; purple; 5–7 -veined; hispidulous; acuminate; muticous, or awned. Awn of lower sterile floret 10–20 mm long. Fertile lemma ovate; gibbous; 2.5–3.5 mm long; indurate; much thinner above; shiny; without keel; 5 -veined. Lemma margins involute. Lemma apex acute; laterally pinched. Palea reflexed at apex; indurate.

FLOWER Anthers 3.

FRUIT Caryopsis exposed between gaping lemma and palea at maturity.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: southern tropical. Asia-temperate: Soviet far east, China, and eastern Asia. Asia-tropical: Indo-China. Australasia: Australia and New Zealand. Pacific: southwestern and north-central.

NOTES Paniceae. Koyama 1996.

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