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Descriptions

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

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

Hickelia africana

HABIT Perennial. Culms leaning, or rambling; 300 cm long; 8 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; with small lumen; 40 cm long. Lateral branches dendroid. Bud complement 1. Branch complement many; with 1 branch dominant; thinner than stem. Culm-sheaths 2 times as long as wide; green; puberulous. Culm-sheath ligule 1 mm high. Culm-sheath blade lanceolate; 8.5–13.5 cm long; 12–15 mm wide; glabrous on surface; attenuate. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface. Ligule a ciliate membrane. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 5–12 cm long; 7–10 mm wide; light green. Leaf-blade venation without cross veins. Leaf-blade surface glabrous, or puberulous; hairy abaxially. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

INFLORESCENCE Synflorescence bractiferous; stellate; 4–8 cm long; with glumaceous subtending bracts; without axillary buds at base of spikelet.

Fertile spikelets sessile.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; with a barren rhachilla extension. Spikelets ovate; laterally compressed; 15 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.

GLUMES Glumes several; 5 empty glumes; lower persistent, upper deciduous (with floret); dissimilar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; chartaceous; without keels. Lower glume margins ciliolate. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume ovate; 11–12 mm long; indurate; without keels; 15–23 -veined. Upper glume margins ciliolate. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Fertile lemma ovate; 8 mm long; indurate; shiny; without keel; 17 -veined. Lemma lateral veins transversely connected at apex. Lemma margins ciliolate. Lemma apex cuspidate. Palea ovate; 6 mm long; coriaceous. Palea keels contiguous above a sulcus; ciliolate. Rhachilla extension 0.2 length of fertile floret.

FLOWER Lodicules 3; 4 mm long. Anthers 6; 9 mm long. Stigmas 3. Ovary umbonate; pubescent on apex.

FRUIT Caryopsis with tardily free pericarp; ovoid; 3 mm long; hairy at apex.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: east tropical.

NOTES Bambuseae. Dransfield 1995.

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