Melinis repens

HABIT Annual, or perennial; short-lived; caespitose. Culms erect, or geniculately ascending; 20–150 cm long; rooting from lower nodes. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades flat, or conduplicate; 5–30 cm long; 2–10 mm wide.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle.

Panicle open; oblong, or ovate; 5–20 cm long. Panicle branches capillary.

Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels filiform; sinuous; glabrous, or ciliate.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets ovate; laterally compressed; gibbous; 2–12 mm long; falling entire; readily shedding fertile florets. Rhachilla internodes elongated between glumes (0.2–1.7 mm long).

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; reaching apex of florets; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume oblong; (0.3–)0.6–3(–4.3) mm long; 0.1–0.4 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 0–1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume surface villous. Lower glume hairs white, or purple. Lower glume apex emarginate, or truncate. Upper glume ovate; gibbous; 1 length of spikelet; chartaceous; much thinner above; without keels; 5 -veined. Upper glume surface glabrous, or villous; hairy below. Upper glume margins eciliate, or ciliate. Upper glume hairs white, or purple. Upper glume apex lobed; 2 -fid; rostrate; mucronate, or awned; 1 -awned. Upper glume awn 0–7(–10) mm long.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets male, or barren; with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to upper glume; ovate; gibbous; 1 length of spikelet; chartaceous; much thinner above; 5 -veined; glabrous, or villous; hairy below; ciliate on margins; bearing white hairs, or purple hairs; bearing hairs 2–6 mm long; lobed; 2 -fid; rostrate; mucronate, or awned. Awn of lower sterile floret 0–7(–10) mm long. Palea of lower sterile floret pilose. Fertile lemma oblong; laterally compressed; 2–2.5 mm long; cartilaginous; shiny; without keel; 5 -veined. Lemma margins flat. Lemma apex emarginate. Palea cartilaginous; without keels.

FLOWER Stigmas laterally exserted.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: north, Macaronesia, west tropical, west-central tropical, northeast tropical, east tropical, southern tropical, south, and western Indian ocean. Asia-temperate: Arabia, China, and eastern Asia. Asia-tropical: India, Indo-China, Malesia, and Papuasia. Australasia: Australia. Pacific: southwestern, south-central, northwestern, and north-central. North America: southwest USA, south-central USA, southeast USA, and Mexico. South America: Mesoamericana, Caribbean, northern South America, western South America, Brazil, and southern South America.

NOTES Paniceae. FTEA.

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