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Descriptions

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

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

Tripsacum cundinamarce

HABIT Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes elongated; knotty. Culms erect, or geniculately ascending; robust; 400–500 cm long. Culm-internodes solid. Leaf-sheaths glabrous on surface. Ligule a ciliolate membrane. Leaf-blade base with a false petiole. Leaf-blades lanceolate; 60–120 cm long; 40–60 mm wide; glaucous. Leaf-blade surface smooth; glabrous.

INFLORESCENCE Monoecious; with male and female spikelets in the same inflorescence. Inflorescence composed of racemes; terminal and axillary.

Racemes 4–10; digitate; erect; arcuate; smoothly terete; unilateral; 12–25 cm long. Central inflorescence axis 3–5 cm long. Rhachis (female) fragile at the nodes; subcylindrical and excavated. Spikelet packing abaxial. Rhachis internodes oblong; adherent to upper glume of sessile spikelet. Rhachis internode tip transverse; crateriform.

Sexes segregated; on bisexual branches; with male above. Spikelets sunken; solitary. Fertile spikelets sessile. Male spikelets sessile; 2 in a cluster.

FERTILE SPIKELETS Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets ovate; dorsally compressed; 6–8 mm long; falling entire; deciduous with accessory branch structures. Spikelet callus base truncate; with central peg; attached transversely.

GLUMES Glumes dissimilar; reaching apex of florets; firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 1 length of spikelet; indurate; without keels. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume ovate; cartilaginous; without keels. Upper glume apex acute.

FLORETS Basal sterile florets barren; without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret oblong; hyaline. Fertile florets female. Fertile lemma oblong; hyaline; without keel. Palea hyaline.

MALE Male spikelets distinct from female; all deciduous together; 5–7 mm long; hairy. Male spikelet glumes 2; coriaceous; muticous.

DISTRIBUTION South America: western South America.

NOTES Andropogoneae. De Wet & Timothy 2004.

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