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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.
Leptothrium senegalense
HABIT Perennial; short-lived; caespitose. Culms geniculately ascending; 10–60 cm long; wiry. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades 2–10 cm long; 1–3 mm wide.
INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.
Racemes numerous; borne along a central axis; in a multilateral false spike; spreading; cuneate; bearing few fertile spikelets; bearing 2 fertile spikelets on each. Central inflorescence axis 2–17 cm long. Rhachis obsolete; deciduous from axis. Raceme-bases cuneate; 1–5 mm long; pilose; hairy on margins.
Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets sessile; 2 in the cluster; subequal, or the upper smaller (lower glume of one spikelet usually enlarged, rarely equalling upper glume or the latter also enlarged).
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets linear to lanceolate; laterally compressed; gibbous; 2.5–8 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures.
GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; with lower narrower than upper, or with lower wider than upper; exceeding apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma; recurved at apex. Lower glume lanceolate; 2.4–8 mm long; 1–2 length of upper glume; coriaceous; without keels; 1–3 -veined. Lower glume surface convex, or flat; smooth, or tuberculate. Lower glume margins ciliate (hooked hairs). Lower glume apex acute, or caudate. Upper glume oblong; gibbous; 3–5.5 mm long; 2–4 length of adjacent fertile lemma; coriaceous; without keels; 3 -veined. Upper glume primary vein ciliate (hooked hairs). Upper glume surface tuberculate. Upper glume apex caudate.
FLORETS Fertile lemma ovate; 1.5 mm long; hyaline; without keel; 1 -veined. Lemma margins ciliolate; hairy above. Lemma apex acute. Palea 0.3–0.5 length of lemma; hyaline; 0 -veined.
FLOWER Anthers 3; 0.2 mm long.
FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; ellipsoid; laterally compressed; biconvex; 2 mm long. Embryo 0.5 length of caryopsis.
DISTRIBUTION Africa: north, Macaronesia, west tropical, northeast tropical, and east tropical. Asia-temperate: western Asia and Arabia. Asia-tropical: India.
NOTES Cynodonteae. FTEA.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
