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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.
Merostachys pauciflora
HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect; 20–35 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; mid-green; antrorsely scabrous; distally pubescent. Lateral branches dendroid. Branch complement many; flabellate. Leaves 3–5 per branch. Leaf-sheaths puberulous; outer margin hairy. Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; 5–11 mm long. Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 0.2 mm long. Leaf-blade base with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.2–0.3 cm long; petiole glabrous. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 8–10 cm long; 9–13 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface papillose; rough abaxially; glabrous.
INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.
Racemes 1; single; unilateral; 3–6 cm long; bearing 1–8 fertile spikelets on each. Rhachis angular; 0.6–0.8 mm wide; villous on surface; terminating in a sterile spikelet. Spikelet packing broadside to rhachis; contiguous.
Spikelets deflexed; solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels 10–17 mm long; villous.
STERILE SPIKELETS Apical sterile spikelets rudimentary.
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 2 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; with a barren rhachilla extension, or with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets elliptic; laterally compressed; 10–15 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus pubescent.
GLUMES Glumes one the lower absent or obscure; persistent; shorter than spikelet. Upper glume ovate; 0.1–0.2 mm long; 0.01 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous.
FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea; attached to and deciduous with the fertile. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to fertile lemma; ovate; chartaceous; 7 -veined; acute. Lemma of upper sterile floret 9.5–10 mm long. Fertile lemma ovate; 9.5–10 mm long; chartaceous; shiny; without keel; 15 -veined. Lemma margins pubescent; hairy above. Lemma apex acute. Rhachilla extension 10 mm long; villous; hairy above. Apical sterile florets distinct from fertile; 1 in number; rudimentary.
FLOWER Lodicules 3. Anthers 3. Stigmas 2.
FRUIT Caryopsis with free brittle pericarp.
DISTRIBUTION South America: Mesoamericana.
NOTES Bambuseae. Fl Meso-Am 1997.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
