Catalepis Stapf & Stent
Habit, vegetative morphology. Perennial; caespitose. Culms 5–40 cm high; herbaceous; to about 0.1 cm in diameter; unbranched above. Culm nodes glabrous. Culm internodes solid. Plants unarmed. Young shoots intravaginal. Leaves mostly basal; non-auriculate. Leaf blades linear; narrow; to 1 mm wide; becoming setaceous; folded, or rolled (rarely flat); without abaxial multicellular glands; without cross venation; persistent; a fringe of hairs; 0.3 mm long. Contra-ligule absent.
Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual, with bisexual spikelets; with hermaphrodite florets.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence of spicate main branches (spiciform, of numerous short racemes); contracted (very much so - the lateral branches short, sometimes reduced to 4 or 5 spikelets); non-digitate; espatheate; not comprising ‘partial inflorescences’ and foliar organs. Spikelet-bearing axes persistent. Spikelets solitary; not secund; shortly pedicellate.
Female-fertile spikelets. Spikelets 4–5 mm long; compressed laterally; falling with the glumes (seeming to disarticulate at the base of the pedicel). Rachilla prolonged beyond the uppermost female-fertile floret (the prolongation small); the rachilla extension naked. Hairy callus present (the i.e., the ‘pedicel’).
Glumes two; (the upper) relatively large; very unequal; the upper exceeding the spikelets; (the upper) long relative to the adjacent lemmas; lateral to the rachis; hairless (glabrous, ciliolate on the keel); pointed; awnless; (the upper) carinate; very dissimilar (the lower reduced to a small subulate scale, the upper lanceolate). Lower glume much shorter than half length of lowest lemma; 0 nerved. Upper glume 1 nerved. Spikelets with female-fertile florets only; without proximal incomplete florets.
Female-fertile florets 1 (lanceolate). Lemmas similar in texture to the glumes (thin); not becoming indurated; entire; pointed; awnless; hairy. The hairs in tufts (one or two on either flank); not in transverse rows. Lemmas scabrous on the keels; carinate; without a germination flap; 3 nerved; with the nerves non-confluent. Palea present (broad); relatively long; apically notched (emarginate); awnless, without apical setae; textured like the lemma (hyaline, glabrous); not indurated; 2-nerved; 2-keeled. Lodicules present; 2; free; fleshy; glabrous; not or scarcely vascularized. Stamens 3. Anthers 1.5–2 mm long (i.e. relatively long); not penicillate; without an apically prolonged connective. Ovary glabrous. Styles fused. Stigmas 2; light brown.
Abaxial leaf blade epidermis. Costal/intercostal zonation conspicuous. Papillae absent. Long-cells markedly different in shape costally and intercostally (the costals much narrower); of similar wall thickness costally and intercostally (fairly thick walled). Mid-intercostal long-cells rectangular; having markedly sinuous walls (and pitted). Microhairs present; elongated; clearly two-celled; panicoid-type (very large, the apical cells narrow and often collapsed, but relatively short and round-tipped). Microhair apical cell wall thinner than that of the basal cell but not tending to collapse. Microhair basal cells 33 microns long. Microhair total length/width at septum 5. Microhair apical cell/total length ratio 0.3. Stomata common. Subsidiaries low to high dome-shaped and triangular. Guard-cells overlapping to flush with the interstomatals. Intercostal short-cells common; in cork/silica-cell pairs; silicified. Intercostal silica bodies present and perfectly developed; tall-and-narrow, or cross-shaped. Costal short-cells conspicuously in long rows. Costal silica bodies present in alternate cell files of the costal zones; assorted rounded, saddle shaped, and ‘panicoid-type’; when panicoid type, cross shaped, or dumb-bell shaped, or nodular.
Transverse section of leaf blade, physiology. Lamina mid-zone in transverse section open.
C4; XyMS+. PCR sheath outlines uneven. PCR sheaths of the primary vascular bundles interrupted; interrupted both abaxially and adaxially. PCR sheath extensions present. Maximum number of extension cells 1. PCR cell chloroplasts centrifugal/peripheral. Mesophyll with radiate chlorenchyma. Leaf blade with distinct, prominent adaxial ribs to ‘nodular’ in section; with the ribs more or less constant in size (low, round-topped). Midrib conspicuous (somewhat: a larger bundle and keel, with heavier sclerenchyma); with one bundle only. Bulliforms present in discrete, regular adaxial groups (between all the bundles); in simple fans (each group with a large, deeply penetrating median cell). All the vascular bundles accompanied by sclerenchyma. Combined sclerenchyma girders present (in the primaries only, the small bundles with abaxial girders and adaxial strands); forming ‘figures’ (in the primary bundles). Sclerenchyma all associated with vascular bundles.
Taxonomy. Chloridoideae; main chloridoid assemblage.
Distribution, ecology, phytogeography. 1 species; South Africa. Mesophytic (locally abundant in mountain grassland); species of open habitats.
Paleotropical. African. Sudano-Angolan. South Tropical African.
References, etc. Leaf anatomical: this project; photos provided by R.P. Ellis.
Special comments. Fruit data wanting.
Illustrations. • General aspect. • Abaxial epidermis of leaf blade
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).
