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Descriptions

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

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

Heteropholis nigrescens

HABIT Annual. Culms decumbent; 30–150 cm long; 10–15 -noded; rooting from lower nodes. Culm-nodes glabrous. Leaf-sheaths outer margin hairy. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blade base cordate. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 6–15 cm long; 5–11 mm wide. Leaf-blade margins ciliate; hairy at base.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes; terminal and axillary. Peduncle 3–5 cm long; widened at apex.

Racemes 1; single; smoothly terete; unilateral; 5–8 cm long; bearing 6–10 fertile spikelets on each. Rhachis fragile at the nodes; semiterete. Rhachis internodes cuneate; 3–4 mm long. Rhachis internode tip transverse; crateriform; with simple rim.

Spikelets sunken; in pairs. Fertile spikelets sessile; 1 in the cluster. Companion sterile spikelets pedicelled; 1 in the cluster. Pedicels fused to internode; united wholly; oblong; flattened; tip rectangular.

STERILE SPIKELETS Companion sterile spikelets well-developed; comprising 2 subequal glumes without lemmas; lanceolate; 4–5 mm long; longer than fertile; separately deciduous. Companion sterile spikelet glumes coriaceous; winged on keels.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic; dorsally compressed; 4–5 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus glabrous; base truncate; with central peg; attached transversely.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; exceeding apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume elliptic; 1 length of spikelet; coriaceous; 2-keeled; keeled laterally; keeled obtusely; winged on keel; winged near apex; 11 -veined. Lower glume surface areolate. Lower glume margins ciliolate (below). Upper glume oblong; membranous; without keels. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; hyaline. Fertile lemma oblong; hyaline; without keel.

FLOWER Anthers 3; 2 mm long.

DISTRIBUTION Asia-tropical: India.

NOTES Andropogoneae. WDC.

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