Leaf blade
narrow, expanded or rolled; ligule a fringed membrane or a fringe of hairs
Inflorescence
an open or contracted panicle, rarely spike-like
Spikelet
laterally compressed; disarticulating above glumes and between florets; glumes ± equal or unequal, shorter than spikelet, narrowly lanceolate, 1-nerved, mostly 2-lobed, awned
Florets
3-24, bisexual; uppermost florets reduced; lemma scarious or membranous, keeled, 3-nerved, long-hairy on lateral nerves or all nerves, deeply 3-lobed, 3-awned as each lobe is awned, lateral awns shorter than central awn; awns slender, straight; callus hairy; palea shorter than lemma, hyaline
Lodicules
2, minute, delicate, glabrous
Stamens
3
Ovary
glabrous; styles plumose
Caryopsis
linear, trigonous
x = 10
Nomenclature:
Triraphis
R.Br.
Brown: 185 (1810)
Stapf: 650 (1900)
Chippindall: 124 (1955)
Pilger: 46 (1956)
Clayton: 128 (1970)
Launert: 210 (1970)
Clayton & Renvoize: 205 (1986)
Gibbs Russell et al.: 345 (1990)
Watson & Dallwitz: 976 (1994)
Distribution & Notes:
Global
: Species 7, Africa and Arabian Peninsula, 1 in Australia
Southern Africa
: Species 5, widespread
References:
BROWN, R. 1810.
Prodromus florae Novae Hollandiae et Insulae Van-Diemen
. 1. J. Johnson & Co, London
CHIPPINDALL, L.K.A. 1955. A guide to the identification of grasses in South Africa. In D. Meredith,
The grasses and pastures of South Africa
. Central News Agency, Cape Town
CLAYTON, W.D. 1970.
Flora of tropical East Africa
.
Gramineae
(Part 1)
CLAYTON, W.D. & RENVOIZE S.A. 1986. Genera graminum. Grasses of the world.
Kew Bulletin
. Additional series 13
GIBBS RUSSELL, G.E., WATSON, L., KOEKEMOER, M., SMOOK, L., BARKER, N.P., ANDERSON, H.M. & DALLWITZ. M.J. 1990. Grasses of southern Africa.
Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa
No. 58
LAUNERT, E. 1970.
Gramineae
.
Prodromus einer Flora von Südwestafrika
160
PILGER, R.K.F. 1956.
Gramineae
II.
Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien
, edn 2, 14d
STAPF, O. 1898-1900.
Gramineae
.
Flora capensis
7
WATSON, L. & DALLWITZ, M.J. 1994.
The grass genera of the world
, revised edn. CAB International, Oxon
Copyright of the content hosted by this website remains with the
South African National Biodiversity Institute
(SANBI), unless stated otherwise.
Material from this site may be used in other media, provided that SANBI is acknowledged by the name
South African National Biodiversity Institute
(SANBI) or refer to the '
How to cite this resource
' paragraph on the Home page.
Liability disclaimer: Visitors use this site at their own risk and SANBI is not liable for any of the consequences resulting therefrom.
Welcome to Biodiversity Advisor 2.0!
Biodiversity Advisor, developed by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and its Data Partners, is a system that will provide integrated biodiversity information to a wide range of users who will have access to geospatial data, plant and animal species distribution data, ecosystem-level data, literature, images and metadata.
The integrated information comes from our much-loved Botanical Database of Southern Africa (BODATSA) also known as Plants of Southern Africa (POSA), Zoological Database of Southern Africa (ZODATSA), Biodiversity Geographic Information System (BGIS), SANBI's institutional repository (Opus) and others.
The system is still under development, so you may find a few bugs/issues. If you do, please report it via the error reporting button available in various sections of the website or provide us with any useful feedback you may have via the ‘Give us feedback’ option available in the sidebar menu. You can create a free account for yourself by clicking on the user profile icon which will take you through to the login page. Here you can choose the ‘Create an account’ option or simply fill in your details if you have an account already. Having an account on Biodiversity Advisor will provide users with free access to biodiversity resources.
In future, Team SANBI will be able to log in using their day-to-day login details, BGIS users will be able to use their existing accounts and details, and general users will be able to log in using their LinkedIn profile, but for now you will need to create an account.
