Rytidosperma penicillatum (Labill.) Connor & Edgar

Map

Inflorescence

Plant

Habit

Spikelets

Collar

Description

Plants loosely cespitose to somewhat spreading, shortly rhizomatous. Culms 30-90 cm, erect, mostly smooth and glabrous, scabrous-pubescent immediately below the inflores¬cence, branching extravaginal, the new shoots with scaly cata¬phylls. Leaves mostly basal, greatly exceeded by the culms, flag leaf blades usually not reaching the inflorescence; sheaths densely hairy or glabrous, with apical tufts of hairs, apical hairs 1-3.5 mm; ligules 0.1-1 mm; blades to 30 cm long and 5 mm wide, flat, folded, or rolled, pubescent or glabrous. Inflorescences 4-10 cm, racemose or paniculate, contracted; pedicels much shorter than the spikelets. Spikelets 9-15(18) mm, longer than the rachis internodes, with 5-10 florets; rachilla segments 0.2-0.5 mm. Glumes 8-14(17.5) mm, subequal, lanceolate, some¬times with scattered hairs; lower glumes (5)7-9(11)-veined; upper glumes 5-7(9)-veined; calluses 0.5-1.2 mm, longer than wide, with marginal tufts of hairs usu¬ally reaching the lower lemma hairs; lemma bodies (2)2.5-4 mm, 9-veined, lower row of hairs continuous or with weak central tufts, hairs of the marginal tufts not or just reaching the upper row of hairs, upper row of hairs composed of 2 marginal tufts, sometimes with 2 additional scanty tufts between, hairs reaching or slightly exceeding the base of the awn; lobes 5-13 mm, aristate; awns (7)9-16 mm; paleas 3-6 mm, exceeding the lemma sinuses, emarginate, intercostal region glabrous or scabrous, margins glabrous or sparsely long-hairy, veins ciliate; anthers 0.4-2.5 mm. Caryopses 1.8-2.5(3) mm long, 0.8-1.1(1.6) mm wide; embryos 0.7-1(1.5) mm; hila 0.4-0.5(0.7) mm.
(Description source: Barkworth, M.E., Capels, K.M., Long, S. & Piep, M.B. (eds.) 2003. Flora of North America, north of Mexico. Volume 25. Magnoliophyta: Commelinidae (in part): Poaceae, Part 2. Oxford University Press, New York. 783 pp. http://floranorthamerica.org/Rytidosperma_penicillatum )

Tufted perennials; culms 50-90 cm tall, glabrous. Sheaths papillose-hispid, 5-10 cm long; ligule a line of hairs 1-1.5 mm long; blades flat or rolled, 3-12 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, upper surface glabrous, lower surface papillose-hispid. Panicles 5-8 cm long, with erect scaberulous branches 1-2 cm long; spikelets 3-5-flowered, 9-11 mm long, excluding awns; glumes 9-11 mm long, glabrous, margins hyaline, first glume 7- nerved, second glume 5-nerved; lemmas 5- 6 mm long, margins with 2 tufts of long silky white hairs, callus long pilose, one near base and one ca. 1/3 above base, apex deeply bifid, the lobes with slender awns, the middie awn 8-10 mm long; palea scaberulous, the narrow apex emarginate. Caryopsis reddish brown, oblong-obovate, dorsally subcompressed, 2-2.5 mm long. [2n = 24, 48.]
(Description source: O’Connor, P.J. 1990. Poaceae, pp. 1481–1604. In: Wagner W.L., Herbst D.R. & Sohmer S.H. (eds.)., Manual of the flowering plant of Hawaiʻi. Vol. 2. University of Hawaii Press & Bishop Museum Press, Honolulu )