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Descriptions

W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson

© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Paspalum inconstans

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Culms geniculately ascending; 45–85 cm long; without nodal roots, or rooting from lower nodes. Culm-internodes elliptical in section; distally glabrous. Culm-nodes brown; glabrous, or pubescent. Lateral branches lacking, or sparse. Leaf-sheaths mostly shorter than adjacent culm internode; pubescent; outer margin hairy. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 1–2 mm long; brown. Leaf-blades 10–15 cm long; 6–13 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface puberulous; hairy on both sides. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes; terminal and axillary.

Racemes 1–8; borne along a central axis; spreading; unilateral; 4–8 cm long. Central inflorescence axis 2–7 cm long; winged (above); pubescent (below). Rhachis narrowly winged; 1 mm wide; glabrous on surface, or puberulous on surface. Spikelet packing abaxial.

Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets pedicelled. Pedicels unequal; 1.5–2 mm long.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic, or oblong; dorsally compressed; plano-convex; 2.2–3 mm long; 1.2 mm wide; falling entire.

GLUMES Glumes one to two the lower present in some spikelets; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume 0.1–0.2 length of spikelet. Upper glume ovate; 0.8 length of spikelet; membranous; with hyaline margins; without keels; 3–5 -veined. Upper glume margins pubescent. Upper glume apex obtuse.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets male, or barren; with palea, or without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to upper glume; elliptic; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; 3–5 -veined; eciliate on margins, or pubescent on margins; obtuse. Fertile lemma elliptic; 2–2.8 mm long; indurate; pallid; without keel. Lemma surface striate. Lemma margins involute. Palea involute; indurate.

FLOWER Anthers 3.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp.

DISTRIBUTION South America: western South America.

NOTES Paniceae. Hitchcock 1993.

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