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Descriptions

W.D. Clayton, M. Vorontsova, K.T. Harman & H. Williamson

© Copyright The Board of Trustees, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Themeda hookeri

HABIT Perennial. Culms geniculately ascending; 40–90 cm long. Ligule a ciliolate membrane. Leaf-blades 10–20 cm long; 2–3 mm wide. Leaf-blade apex acuminate; filiform.

INFLORESCENCE Synflorescence compound; scanty. Inflorescence composed of racemes; terminal and axillary; subtended by a spatheole; enclosed. Spatheole linear, or lanceolate; 2.5–3.5 cm long; scarious.

Racemes 1; single; cuneate; bearing few fertile spikelets; bearing 2 fertile spikelets on each. Rhachis fragile at the nodes.

Spikelets in pairs. Fertile spikelets sessile; 1 in the cluster. Companion sterile spikelets pedicelled; 1 in the cluster. Pedicels oblong; 1 mm long; tip oblique.

STERILE SPIKELETS Basal sterile spikelets well-developed; 4 in number; forming an involucre about the fertile; with normal internodes; subsessile; lanceolate; 10–19 mm long; larger than fertile. Basal sterile spikelet glumes smooth; glabrous; lower glume muticous.

Companion sterile spikelets well-developed; containing empty lemmas, or male; lanceolate; 10 mm long; longer than fertile; separately deciduous. Companion sterile spikelet callus oblong; 1.5 mm long; truncate. Companion sterile spikelet glumes chartaceous; attenuate. Companion sterile spikelet lemmas 2; enclosed by glumes.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic; subterete; 7 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus cuneate; 2 mm long; pilose; base pungent; attached obliquely.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; exceeding apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume oblong; 1 length of spikelet; coriaceous; without keels. Upper glume oblong; coriaceous; 3 -veined. Upper glume apex truncate.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; hyaline. Fertile lemma linear; hyaline; without keel; 1 -veined. Lemma apex entire; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn apical; geniculate; 20–40 mm long overall; with twisted column. Column of lemma awn hispidulous. Palea absent or minute.

DISTRIBUTION Asia-temperate: China. Asia-tropical: India.

NOTES Andropogoneae. WDC 1993.

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