| Note - this takes you off
of our website |
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.
Setaria sphacelata
HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short, or elongated. Butt sheaths withering, or persistent and investing base of culm; with fibrous dead sheaths. Basal innovations subterete, or flabellate. Culms 20–300 cm long. Culm-nodes glabrous. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades flat, or convolute; 10–50 cm long; 2–17 mm wide. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.
INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence a panicle.
Panicle spiciform; linear; 3–50 cm long. Primary panicle branches accrescent to a central axis; with evident branchlets on axis. Panicle axis pubescent.
Spikelets subtended by an involucre. Fertile spikelets sessile; 1–4 in the cluster. Involucre composed of bristles; 1.5–12 mm long. Involucral bristles persistent; 6–15 in principal whorl; flexible; antrorsely scaberulous; glabrous.
FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic; dorsally compressed; 1.5–3.5 mm long; falling entire.
GLUMES Glumes shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 0.25–0.5 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 3(–5) -veined. Lower glume apex obtuse, or acute. Upper glume ovate; 0.33–0.66(–0.75) length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 5 -veined. Upper glume apex acute.
FLORETS Basal sterile florets male; with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret ovate; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; 5 -veined; acute. Fertile lemma ovate; dorsally compressed; gibbous; 1–3 mm long; indurate; without keel. Lemma surface rugose. Lemma margins involute. Lemma apex acute. Palea involute; indurate.
DISTRIBUTION Africa: west tropical, west-central tropical, northeast tropical, east tropical, southern tropical, south, middle Atlantic ocean, and western Indian ocean. Asia-temperate: Arabia. Asia-tropical: India, Indo-China, Malesia, and Papuasia. Australasia: Australia. Pacific: southwestern, south-central, northwestern, and north-central. North America: southwest USA. South America: Mesoamericana, western South America, Brazil, and southern South America.
NOTES Paniceae. FTEA.
Please cite this publication as detailed in How to Cite Version: 3rd February 2016.
