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Descriptions

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

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

Pennisetum divisum

HABIT Perennial. Rhizomes short; knotty. Culms erect, or geniculately ascending; 50–100(–200) cm long; woody; without nodal roots, or rooting from lower nodes. Culm-internodes glaucous. Lateral branches suffrutescent. Leaf-sheaths loose. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades deciduous at the ligule; filiform; convolute; 3–7.5 cm long; 1–1.5 mm wide; glaucous. Leaf-blade apex pungent.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle. Peduncle smooth, or scaberulous above.

Panicle spiciform; oblong; 5–12 cm long. Primary panicle branches accrescent to a central axis; with sessile scars on axis. Panicle axis angular; scaberulous; glabrous; bearing deciduous spikelet clusters.

Spikelets subtended by an involucre. Fertile spikelets sessile; 1 in the cluster. Involucre composed of bristles; oblong; 7–20 mm long; base bluntly stipitate (0.5–1mm). Involucral bristles deciduous with the fertile spikelets; numerous; terete; flexible; glabrous, or ciliate.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; dorsally compressed; 6.5–8.5 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures.

GLUMES Glumes similar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume lanceolate; 0.5–0.75 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 1(–3) -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent, or obscure. Lower glume apex acute, or acuminate. Upper glume oblong; 0.9–1 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels. Upper glume apex acute, or acuminate.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets male; with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret lanceolate; 1 length of spikelet; chartaceous; acuminate. Fertile lemma lanceolate; 6.5–8.5 mm long; chartaceous; without keel. Lemma margins flat. Lemma apex acuminate. Palea chartaceous.

FLOWER Anthers 3; anther tip smooth.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: north, west tropical, and northeast tropical. Asia-temperate: western Asia and Arabia. Asia-tropical: India.

NOTES Paniceae. Fl Pak.

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