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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 mezianum

HABIT Perennial. Rhizomes short; knotty. Culms decumbent; 30–120 cm long; wiry, or woody. Lateral branches suffrutescent. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface. Leaf-sheath oral hairs lacking. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades flat, or conduplicate, or involute; 2–15 cm long; 1–5 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface glabrous.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle. Peduncle smooth.

Panicle spiciform; oblong, or ovate; 1–3(–5) 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; 4–10 mm long; base obconical, or bluntly stipitate (briefly). Involucral bristles deciduous with the fertile spikelets; numerous; with an outer whorl of thinner bristles; with longest bristle scarcely emergent; 4–10 mm long; terete; flexible; glabrous.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets oblong; dorsally compressed; 3–4.5 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures.

GLUMES Glumes similar; reaching apex of florets, or shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 0.33–0.5 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 1–3 -veined. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume elliptic; 0.66–1 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 5–7 -veined. Upper glume apex acute, or acuminate.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets male, or barren; with palea, or without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret elliptic; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; 5 -veined; acute, or acuminate. Fertile lemma elliptic; 3–4.5 mm long; membranous; without keel; 5 -veined. Lemma margins flat. Lemma apex acuminate; mucronate. Palea membranous.

FLOWER Lodicules absent. Anthers 3; 1.5–2 mm long; anther tip smooth. Styles free to the base, or connate below.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; oblong; dorsally compressed; 1.5 mm long.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: northeast tropical, east tropical, and south. Asia-tropical: India.

NOTES Paniceae. FTEA.

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