Oxyrhachis gracillima

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Culms erect; 20–60 cm long. Ligule a ciliolate membrane. Leaf-blades filiform; 5–30 cm long; 1 mm wide.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.

Racemes 1; single; erect; smoothly terete; bilateral; 5–16 cm long. Rhachis fragile at the nodes; subcylindrical and excavated; 1 mm wide. Spikelet packing abaxial. Rhachis internodes oblong; 5–10 mm long. Rhachis internode tip oblique.

Spikelets sunken; solitary. Fertile spikelets sessile.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; dorsally compressed; 3–6 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus square; 0.5–1 mm long; glabrous; base obtuse; attached obliquely.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; reaching apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume lanceolate; 1 length of upper glume; 1 length of spikelet; coriaceous; purple; without keels; 6–7 -veined. Lower glume apex obtuse. Upper glume oblong; chartaceous.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to upper glume; oblong; 2.5–3.8 mm long; 0.75 length of spikelet; hyaline; 0–2 -veined. Fertile lemma oblong; 2.5–3.5 mm long; hyaline; without keel; 2 -veined. Lemma apex truncate. Palea present, or absent or minute; 0–0.2 length of lemma; without keels.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: west tropical, west-central tropical, east tropical, southern tropical, south, and western Indian ocean.

NOTES Andropogoneae. FTEA.

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