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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.
Schizachyrium urceolatum
HABIT Annual. Culms erect; 15–30 cm long. Ligule an eciliate membrane. Leaf-blades 2–5 cm long; 2–3 mm wide. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.
INFLORESCENCE Synflorescence compound; scanty. Inflorescence composed of racemes; terminal and axillary; subtended by a spatheole; embraced at base by subtending leaf. Spatheole lanceolate; 2.5–3 cm long; red.
Racemes 1; single; smoothly terete; 2.5–5 cm long. Rhachis fragile at the nodes; subterete; 2 mm wide; glabrous on surface; glabrous on margins. Rhachis internodes oblong; 6 mm long. Rhachis internode tip crateriform; with scarious rim.
Spikelets squeezed between internode and pedicel; in pairs. Fertile spikelets sessile; 1 in the cluster. Companion sterile spikelets pedicelled; 1 in the cluster. Pedicels linear; glabrous.
STERILE SPIKELETS Companion sterile spikelets well-developed; comprising 2 subequal glumes without lemmas; lanceolate; dorsally compressed; 3–4 mm long; shorter than fertile; deciduous with the fertile. Companion sterile spikelet glumes membranous; 5 -veined; awned; one glume awned; with 1–2 mm long awn.
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets linear; dorsally compressed; 5–7 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus pubescent; base obtuse; inserted.
GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; exceeding apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume linear; 1 length of spikelet; chartaceous; 2-keeled; keeled frontally. Lower glume intercarinal veins obscure; 3–5 in number. Lower glume surface glabrous. Lower glume apex dentate; 2 -fid; awned; 2 -awned. Lower glume awn 1–2 mm long. Upper glume lanceolate; membranous; 1-keeled; 3 -veined. Upper glume apex acuminate; awned; 1 -awned. Upper glume awn 2–3 mm long.
FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; hyaline; 0 -veined; without midvein; without lateral veins. Fertile lemma oblong; hyaline; without keel. Lemma apex lobed; 2 -fid; incised 0.6–0.75 of lemma length; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn from a sinus; geniculate; 14–18 mm long overall; with twisted column. Column of lemma awn glabrous. Palea absent or minute.
DISTRIBUTION Africa: west tropical, west-central tropical, and northeast tropical.
NOTES Andropogoneae. FTA.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
