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.

Tripogon chinensis

HABIT Perennial; caespitose; clumped densely. Butt sheaths persistent and investing base of culm; with compacted dead sheaths. Culms erect; slender; 10–30 cm long; 0.8–1 mm diam.; 2–3 -noded. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface. Ligule a fringe of hairs; 2.5 mm long. Leaf-blades filiform; involute; 3–10 cm long; 0.5–0.8 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface scabrous; rough adaxially; pilose; sparsely hairy. Leaf-blade margins glabrous, or ciliate.

INFLORESCENCE Inflorescence composed of racemes.

Racemes 1; single; unilateral; 8–15 cm long; 2 mm wide; bearing 10–25 fertile spikelets on each. Rhachis flattened; 0.5 mm wide; glabrous on surface. Spikelet packing broadside to rhachis; regular; 2 -rowed.

Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets sessile.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 2–8 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong; laterally compressed; 4–10 mm long; 1–1.2 mm wide; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus 0.5 mm long; pilose.

GLUMES Glumes persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume lanceolate; 1.5–3 mm long; 0.6–0.7 length of upper glume; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acuminate. Upper glume lanceolate; 2.5–5 mm long; 0.8–1.4 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex acuminate.

FLORETS Fertile lemma oblong; 3–3.5 mm long; membranous; without keel; 3 -veined. Lemma lateral veins excurrent. Lemma apex dentate; 2 -fid; obtuse; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn from a sinus; straight; 1–2 mm long overall. Palea 1 length of lemma; 2 -veined. Palea keels ciliolate. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.

FLOWER Anthers 3; 1–1.2 mm long.

FRUIT Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; 1.2–1.3 mm long.

DISTRIBUTION Asia-temperate: Siberia, Soviet far east, China, Mongolia, and eastern Asia. Asia-tropical: Indo-China and Malesia.

NOTES Eragrostideae. Koyama 1994.

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