Monocymbium ceresiiforme

HABIT Perennial; culms solitary, or caespitose. Culms erect, or geniculately ascending, or decumbent; 30–130 cm long. Ligule a ciliolate membrane. Leaf-blades linear; 5–25 cm long; 2–5 mm wide.

INFLORESCENCE Synflorescence compound; scanty; 5–45 cm long. Inflorescence composed of racemes; terminal and axillary; subtended by a spatheole; enclosed. Spatheole lanceolate; 2–4 cm long; membranous; brown, or red.

Racemes 1; single; unilateral; 1.4–1.6 cm long; bearing few fertile spikelets; bearing 6–8 fertile spikelets on each. Rhachis fragile at the nodes; ciliate on margins. Spikelet packing crowded. Rhachis internodes filiform; 1.5 mm long. Rhachis internode tip oblique.

Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets sessile; 1 in the cluster. Companion sterile spikelets pedicelled; 1 in the cluster. Pedicels filiform; 1.5 mm long; ciliate.

STERILE SPIKELETS Companion sterile spikelets well-developed; male; elliptic; dorsally compressed; as long as fertile; separately deciduous. Companion sterile spikelet callus cuneate; 0.5–1 mm long; obtuse. Companion sterile spikelet glumes coriaceous; 7–11 -veined; pilose, or villous; obtuse; muticous. Companion sterile spikelet lemmas 2; enclosed by glumes.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic; dorsally compressed; 3–4 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus oblong; pilose; hairy on the sides and below (across the base); base obtuse; attached obliquely.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; exceeding apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume elliptic; 1 length of spikelet; coriaceous; without keels; 8 -veined. Lower glume surface pilose, or villous. Lower glume apex entire; obtuse. Upper glume elliptic; without keels; keel-less except near apex; 3 -veined. Upper glume apex entire; acute; awned; 1 -awned. Upper glume awn 2–6 mm long.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; hyaline; 2 -veined; ciliate on margins. Fertile lemma linear; 2–3 mm long; hyaline; without keel. Lemma apex lobed; 2 -fid; incised 0.4–0.6 of lemma length; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn from a sinus; geniculate; 6–20 mm long overall; with twisted column. Column of lemma awn glabrous. Palea absent or minute.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: west tropical, west-central tropical, northeast tropical, east tropical, southern tropical, and south.

NOTES Andropogoneae. FTEA.

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