Leaf blade linear; ligule a short, fringed membrane or a fringe of hairs
Inflorescence of several slender, spike-like racemes, scattered up long central axis, rarely subdigitate; spikelets in two rows on a flat rachis; spikelet solitary
Spikelet 2.5-4.0 mm long, dorsiventrally compressed, disarticulating above glumes; glumes ± equal, longer than spikelet, dissimilar, rather firm, membranous, acute, glabrous, awnless; lower glume appearing winged in upper half, 1-nerved or nerveless, asymmetrically 1-keeled; upper glume 1-3-nerved, flat-backed with 2 keels
Floret 1, bisexual; lemma less firm than glumes, hyaline, entire, hairy or glabrous, weakly 3-nerved, lateral nerves near margin, weakly keeled, awnless or mucronate at apex; palea shorter than lemma, hyaline, faintly 2-nerved, 2-keeled with long hairs on keels
Lodicules 2
Stamens 3
Ovary glabrous; styles plumose
Caryopsis obovoid
Nomenclature:
Craspedorhachis Benth.
Bentham: t. 1377 (1882)
Pilger: 98 (1956)
Chippindall: 204 (1955)
Clayton & Renvoize: 240 (1986)
Gibbs Russell et al.: 92 (1990)
Watson & Dallwitz: 267 (1994)
Distribution & Notes:
Global: Species ± 2-5, tropics of Africa, North and South America
Southern Africa: Species 2, N Namibia
References:
BENTHAM, G. 1882. Hooker's Icones Plantarum 14
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. & 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
PILGER, R.K.F. 1956. Gramineae II. Die natürlichen Pflanzenfamilien, edn 2, 14d
WATSON, L. & DALLWITZ, M.J. 1994. The grass genera of the world, revised edn. CAB International, Oxon
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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.
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