Thrasya oreophila

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Culms erect; 60–120 cm long. Culm-nodes bearded. Leaf-sheaths keeled; glabrous on surface, or pilose; with tubercle-based hairs; outer margin hairy. Ligule an eciliate membrane; 2 mm long; pilose on abaxial surface. Leaf-blades 6–30 cm long; 4–9 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface glabrous. Leaf-blade margins tuberculate-ciliate. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.

Racemes 1–3; single, or borne along a central axis; arcuate; unilateral; 9–16 cm long. Rhachis narrowly winged; folded longitudinally to embrace spikelets; 2 mm wide; glabrous on surface, or puberulous on surface; tuberculate on margins; ciliate on margins; terminating in a barren extension; extension flattened. Rhachis hairs 5–10 mm long. Spikelet packing alternately adaxial and abaxial; regular; 1 -rowed.

Spikelets pectinate; in pairs. Fertile spikelets sessile and pedicelled; 2 in the cluster. Pedicels fused to internode; united wholly.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets elliptic; dorsally compressed; 4 mm long; 1.4 mm wide; falling entire.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; shorter than spikelet; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 1.2 mm long; 0.33 length of spikelet; hyaline; without keels; 0 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume elliptic; 0.75 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; (5–)7 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins with cross-veins; all extending to apex, or excurrent. Upper glume margins eciliate, or ciliolate. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets male; with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret elliptic; 1 length of spikelet; coriaceous; sulcate and readily splitting into two halves; glabrous, or pilose; hairy above; acute. Palea of lower sterile floret becoming indurate on flanks at maturity. Fertile lemma elliptic; 3.5 mm long; coriaceous; without keel. Lemma surface striate. Lemma margins involute. Lemma apex acute; pubescent. Palea coriaceous.

FLOWER Lodicules 2; fleshy; truncate. Anthers 3.

DISTRIBUTION South America: Brazil.

NOTES Paniceae. Burman 1993.

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