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BRACHIARIA (Trin.) Griseb. [family POACEAE]
Date Updated: 19 August 2007
Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 451, (1982) Author: W. D. CLAYTON and S.A. RENVOIZE
Names
BRACHIARIA (Trin.) Griseb. [family POACEAE], in Ledeb., Fl. Ross. 4: 469 (1853)
Panicum Trin. subdiv. Brachiaria [family POACEAE], in Mém. Acad. Sci. Pétersb., sér. 6, 3: 194 (1834)
Information
Annuals or perennials. Leaf-blades linear to lanceolate; ligule represented by a line of hairs. Inflorescence composed of racemes borne upon a common axis; rhachis triquetrous to ribbon-like, bearing single or sometimes paired spikelets, their lower glume adaxial. Spikelets ovate to oblong, plump, obtuse to acute, sometimes the lowest internode elongated, then often accrescent to the sheathing base of the lower glume and forming a short stipe; lower glume mostly shorter than the spikelet; upper glume as long as the spikelet, membranous or herbaceous; lower floret ♂ or sterile, its lemma resembling the upper glume; upper lemma coriaceous to crustaceous, obtuse to acute, usually muticous, its margins inrolled and covering only the edges of the palea; upper palea obtuse to subacute, its tip tucked within the lemma. Caryopsis elliptic, dorsally compressed.
Range
Species ± 90; tropics and subtropics, mainly in Africa.
Notes
Genera 116–125 can mostly be recognized from their general facies, but they are closely related and intergrade to an extent which makes it difficult to find simple unequivocal characters for separating them. Spikelet orientation can be relied upon when the spikelets are single, but is ambiguous when they are paired, for in all genera the lower glume of the sessile spikelet then faces the pedicel, and tends to rotate relative to the rhachis according to whether the pedicel is appressed to or divergent ffom the latter. Consequently the generic classification of paired-spikelet species relies heavily upon comparison with their closest single-spikelet relatives.
Date Updated: 19 August 2007
Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 451, (1982) Author: W. D. CLAYTON and S.A. RENVOIZE
Names
BRACHIARIA (Trin.) Griseb. [family POACEAE], in Ledeb., Fl. Ross. 4: 469 (1853)
Panicum Trin. subdiv. Brachiaria [family POACEAE], in Mém. Acad. Sci. Pétersb., sér. 6, 3: 194 (1834)
Information
Annuals or perennials. Leaf-blades linear to lanceolate; ligule represented by a line of hairs. Inflorescence composed of racemes borne upon a common axis; rhachis triquetrous to ribbon-like, bearing single or sometimes paired spikelets, their lower glume adaxial. Spikelets ovate to oblong, plump, obtuse to acute, sometimes the lowest internode elongated, then often accrescent to the sheathing base of the lower glume and forming a short stipe; lower glume mostly shorter than the spikelet; upper glume as long as the spikelet, membranous or herbaceous; lower floret ♂ or sterile, its lemma resembling the upper glume; upper lemma coriaceous to crustaceous, obtuse to acute, usually muticous, its margins inrolled and covering only the edges of the palea; upper palea obtuse to subacute, its tip tucked within the lemma. Caryopsis elliptic, dorsally compressed.
Range
Species ± 90; tropics and subtropics, mainly in Africa.
Notes
Genera 116–125 can mostly be recognized from their general facies, but they are closely related and intergrade to an extent which makes it difficult to find simple unequivocal characters for separating them. Spikelet orientation can be relied upon when the spikelets are single, but is ambiguous when they are paired, for in all genera the lower glume of the sessile spikelet then faces the pedicel, and tends to rotate relative to the rhachis according to whether the pedicel is appressed to or divergent ffom the latter. Consequently the generic classification of paired-spikelet species relies heavily upon comparison with their closest single-spikelet relatives.
Date Updated: 19 August 2007
Herbarium
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (K)
Collection
Flora of Tropical East Africa
Resource Type
Reference Sources
Entry From
Flora of Tropical East Africa, page 451, (1982) Author: W. D. CLAYTON and S.A. RENVOIZE
Names
BRACHIARIA (Trin.) Griseb. [family POACEAE], in Ledeb., Fl. Ross. 4: 469 (1853)
Panicum Trin. subdiv. Brachiaria [family POACEAE], in Mém. Acad. Sci. Pétersb., sér. 6, 3: 194 (1834)
Information
Annuals or perennials. Leaf-blades linear to lanceolate; ligule represented by a line of hairs. Inflorescence composed of racemes borne upon a common axis; rhachis triquetrous to ribbon-like, bearing single or sometimes paired spikelets, their lower glume adaxial. Spikelets ovate to oblong, plump, obtuse to acute, sometimes the lowest internode elongated, then often accrescent to the sheathing base of the lower glume and forming a short stipe; lower glume mostly shorter than the spikelet; upper glume as long as the spikelet, membranous or herbaceous; lower floret ♂ or sterile, its lemma resembling the upper glume; upper lemma coriaceous to crustaceous, obtuse to acute, usually muticous, its margins inrolled and covering only the edges of the palea; upper palea obtuse to subacute, its tip tucked within the lemma. Caryopsis elliptic, dorsally compressed.
Range
Species ± 90; tropics and subtropics, mainly in Africa.
Notes
Genera 116–125 can mostly be recognized from their general facies, but they are closely related and intergrade to an extent which makes it difficult to find simple unequivocal characters for separating them. Spikelet orientation can be relied upon when the spikelets are single, but is ambiguous when they are paired, for in all genera the lower glume of the sessile spikelet then faces the pedicel, and tends to rotate relative to the rhachis according to whether the pedicel is appressed to or divergent ffom the latter. Consequently the generic classification of paired-spikelet species relies heavily upon comparison with their closest single-spikelet relatives.
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