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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.
Rhipidocladum harmonicum
HABIT Perennial; caespitose; clumped loosely. Rhizomes short; pachymorph. Culms erect, or arching; 1000–2000 cm long; 20 mm diam.; woody. Culm-internodes terete; hollow; 35 cm long; mid-green; distally glabrous. Lateral branches dendroid. Branch complement many; flabellate. Culm-sheaths hispid; with appressed hairs. Culm-sheath ligule 1 mm high. Culm-sheath blade lanceolate; erect; 3–7 cm long; attenuate. Leaves 5–6 per branch. Leaf-sheath oral hairs setose; 8 mm long. Leaf-sheath auricles erect. Ligule a ciliolate membrane; 1 mm long. Leaf-blade base asymmetrical; with a brief petiole-like connection to sheath; petiole 0.2–0.3 cm long; petiole glabrous, or pubescent. Leaf-blades ovate; 8–13 cm long; 13–16 mm wide; glaucous. Leaf-blade surface scaberulous; glabrous; hairless except near base (where woolly tuft beneath).
INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.
Racemes 1; single; sinuous; bilateral; 4–6 cm long; bearing few fertile spikelets; bearing 4–6 fertile spikelets on each.
Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets sessile.
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 2–3 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblanceolate; laterally compressed; 15–20 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
GLUMES Glumes two, or several; 2–3 empty glumes; persistent; dissimilar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume lanceolate; 0.5–4 mm long; 3 -veined. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume ovate; 7–8 mm long; chartaceous; without keels; 7 -veined. Upper glume apex obtuse, or acute.
FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; with palea, or without significant palea; persisting on inflorescence. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to fertile lemma; ovate; 7.5–9 mm long; chartaceous; 7 -veined; obtuse, or acute. Fertile lemma ovate; 11 mm long; coriaceous; without keel; 9–11 -veined. Lemma apex acute. Palea keels ciliolate; adorned above. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
FLOWER Lodicules 3; lanceolate; membranous. Anthers 3; 6–6.5 mm long. Stigmas 2.
FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp.
DISTRIBUTION South America: western South America.
NOTES Bambuseae. Fl Costa Rica 1995.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
