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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 orientale

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short. Culms erect, or geniculately ascending; 20–200 cm long; woody. Lateral branches fastigiate. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades flat, or convolute; 30–60 cm long; 7–15 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface smooth, or scaberulous; glabrous, or pubescent.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle.

Panicle spiciform; linear; continuous, or interrupted; 8–30 cm long. Primary panicle branches accrescent to a central axis; with sessile scars on axis. Panicle axis angular; puberulous, or pubescent; bearing deciduous spikelet clusters.

Spikelets subtended by an involucre. Fertile spikelets sessile and pedicelled; 1–3(–5) in the cluster; 1 sessile. Involucre composed of bristles; 15–30 mm long; base bluntly stipitate; base 0.5–1.5 mm long. Involucral bristles deciduous with the fertile spikelets; numerous; 15–30 mm long; terete; flexible; plumose.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; dorsally compressed; 4.5–6.5 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume oblong; 0.25–0.4 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 0–1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex obtuse, or acute. Upper glume oblong; 0.5–0.75 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels. Upper glume apex acute, or acuminate.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets male; with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret elliptic; 1 length of spikelet; chartaceous; setaceously attenuate. Fertile lemma lanceolate; 4.5–6.5 mm long; chartaceous; without keel. Lemma margins flat. Lemma apex setaceously attenuate. Palea chartaceous.

FLOWER Anthers 3; anther tip apiculate.

DISTRIBUTION Africa: north and northeast tropical. Asia-temperate: Soviet Middle Asia, Caucasus, western Asia, Arabia, and eastern Asia. Asia-tropical: India, Malesia, and Papuasia. Pacific: northwestern. South America: Caribbean.

NOTES Paniceae. Fl Pak 1993.

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