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.

Eriochloa meyeriana

HABIT Perennial. Culms decumbent, or rambling; 30–200 cm long; rooting from lower nodes. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades 5–25 cm long; 3–15 mm wide.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle, or composed of racemes.

Panicle open; elliptic; 8–18 cm long; contracted about secondary branches. Primary panicle branches bearing spikelets almost to the base. Panicle branches secund.

Racemes 10–30; borne along a central axis; unilateral; 2–7 cm long; secondarily branched; secondary branches racemulose. Central inflorescence axis 8–18 cm long. Rhachis angular; puberulous on surface. Spikelet packing adaxial; irregular.

Spikelets solitary, or in pairs. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels oblong; 1–2 mm long.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic; dorsally compressed; acute; 2.3–3.5 mm long; falling entire. Spikelet callus globular; incorporating lowest rhachilla internode with adnate lower glume; glabrous.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; exceeding apex of florets; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume oblate, or ovate (rarely); 0.5(–2) mm long; 0.15–0.2(–0.5) length of spikelet; hyaline; without keels; 0 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex truncate, or cuspidate. Upper glume ovate; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 5 -veined. Upper glume surface glabrous, or pubescent. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets male; with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to upper glume; ovate; 0.9 length of spikelet; 5 -veined; glabrous, or pubescent; acute. Fertile lemma elliptic; 1.5–2.2 mm long; indurate; without keel. Lemma surface granulose. Lemma margins involute. Lemma apex obtuse; mucronate. Palea involute; indurate.

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

NOTES Paniceae. FTEA.

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