Pseudodichanthium Bor
Habit, vegetative morphology. Slender annual. Culms 60 cm high. The shoots not aromatic. Leaves non-auriculate. Leaf blades linear (attenuate); narrow; 4–6 mm wide; without cross venation; an unfringed membrane (?); not truncate (ovate); 1 mm long.
Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual, with bisexual spikelets; with hermaphrodite florets. The spikelets of sexually distinct forms on the same plant; hermaphrodite and male-only, or hermaphrodite and sterile. The male and female-fertile spikelets mixed in the inflorescence. The spikelets more or less homomorphic; usually in both homogamous and heterogamous combinations (with the basal 2–3 pairs homogamous-sterile).
Inflorescence. Inflorescence of single, terminal and axillary racemes; non-digitate; espatheate (?); not comprising ‘partial inflorescences’ and foliar organs (?). Spikelet-bearing axes ‘racemes’ (curved, 1–1.75 cm long); solitary; with very slender rachides; disarticulating; disarticulating at the joints. ‘Articles’ linear. Spikelets sessile and pedicellate; consistently in ‘long-and-short’ combinations (but the pedicels shorter at the base of the raceme); in pedicellate/sessile combinations. Pedicels of the ‘pedicellate’ spikelets free of the rachis. The ‘shorter’ spikelets hermaphrodite, or sterile (at the base of the raceme). The ‘longer’ spikelets male-only, or sterile.
Female-sterile spikelets. The pedicelled spikelets larger, membranous, winged.
Female-fertile spikelets. Spikelets compressed dorsiventrally. Rachilla terminated by a female-fertile floret. Callus blunt.
Glumes two; long relative to the adjacent lemmas; free; hairless; glabrous; without conspicuous tufts or rows of hairs; awnless; very dissimilar (G1 cartilaginaous, 2-keeled, winged, G2 lanceolate, acute, papery). Lower glume two-keeled (and broadly winged above); broadly convex on the back; not pitted; relatively smooth; 9–11 nerved (7–9 nerved between the keels). Upper glume 3 nerved. Spikelets with incomplete florets. The incomplete florets proximal to the female-fertile florets. Spikelets with proximal incomplete florets. The proximal incomplete florets 1; sterile. The proximal lemmas awnless; 0 nerved, or 1 nerved; not becoming indurated (hyaline).
Female-fertile florets 1. Lemmas stipitate, passing into the awn; not becoming indurated; entire; not deeply cleft; awned. Awns 1; median; apical; geniculate; hairy. Lemmas without a germination flap. Palea absent. Stamens 3. Ovary glabrous. Stigmas 2.
Fruit, embryo and seedling. Fruit small (3 mm long); compressed dorsiventrally.
Taxonomy. Panicoideae; Andropogonodae; Andropogoneae; Andropogoninae.
Distribution, ecology, phytogeography. 1 species; Bombay. Shade species.
Paleotropical. Indomalesian. Indian.
Special comments. Fruit data wanting. Anatomical data wanting.
Cite this publication as: Watson, L., and Dallwitz, M. J. (1992 onwards). ‘Grass Genera of the World: Descriptions, Illustrations, Identification, and Information Retrieval; including Synonyms, Morphology, Anatomy, Physiology, Phytochemistry, Cytology, Classification, Pathogens, World and Local Distribution, and References.’ http://biodiversity.uno.edu/delta/. Version: 18th August 1999. Dallwitz (1980), Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993 onwards, 1998), and Watson and Dallwitz (1994), and Watson, Dallwitz, and Johnston (1986) should also be cited (see References).