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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.
Paspalum pilosum
HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Culms geniculately ascending; 50–130 cm long; 1–3 mm diam. Culm-internodes hollow; distally glabrous to pilose. Culm-nodes glabrous, or bearded. Lateral branches sparse. Leaf-sheaths keeled; glabrous on surface, or pilose; with tubercle-based hairs; outer margin hairy. Leaf-sheath oral hairs ciliate; 3–6 mm long. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 0.6–2.5 mm long; brown. Collar glabrous, or bearded. Leaf-blades 10–25 cm long; 5–10 mm wide. Leaf-blade midrib conspicuous; keeled beneath. Leaf-blade surface pilose; hairy on both sides; with tubercle-based hairs. Leaf-blade margins ciliate.
INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes; terminal and axillary. Peduncle glabrous, or pubescent above.
Racemes 1; single; arcuate; unilateral; 6–12 cm long. Rhachis narrowly winged; folded longitudinally to embrace spikelets; 1–1.5 mm wide; ciliate on margins. Spikelet packing irregular.
Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets pedicelled; 2 in the cluster. Pedicels 1 mm long; pubescent.
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets obovate; dorsally compressed; plano-convex; 2.6–3.2 mm long; falling entire.
GLUMES Glumes two; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate, or oblate; 0.5–2 mm long; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume ovate; 2.4–3 mm long; 0.8–0.9 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 5 -veined.
FLORETS Basal sterile florets male; with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to upper glume; elliptic; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; 4–5 -veined; without midvein, or with evident midvein. Fertile lemma ovate; 2.5–2.8 mm long; indurate; pallid; without keel. Lemma surface striate. Lemma margins involute. Palea involute; indurate.
FLOWER Anthers 3; 1–1.2 mm long; purple.
FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp.
DISTRIBUTION North America: Mexico. South America: Mesoamericana, Caribbean, northern South America, western South America, and Brazil.
NOTES Paniceae. Fl Costaric 1993.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
