Cockaynea Zotov
Sometimes referred to Elymus (Section Stenostachys)
Habit, vegetative morphology. Perennial; stoloniferous. Culms herbaceous. Culm nodes glabrous. Culm internodes hollow. Young shoots extravaginal. Leaves mostly basal; shortly auriculate, or non-auriculate (C. laevis). Leaf blades narrow; without cross venation; persistent; an unfringed membrane; truncate; 0.5 mm long.
Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual, with bisexual spikelets; with hermaphrodite florets. The spikelets all alike in sexuality. Plants inbreeding; exposed-cleistogamous, or chasmogamous.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence many spikeleted; a single spike (drooping or nodding). Rachides hollowed. Inflorescence espatheate; not comprising ‘partial inflorescences’ and foliar organs. Spikelet-bearing axes persistent. Spikelets solitary; not secund; sessile; imbricate.
Female-fertile spikelets. Spikelets 9–11 mm long; compressed laterally; disarticulating above the glumes. Rachilla prolonged beyond the uppermost female-fertile floret; the rachilla extension with incomplete florets. Hairy callus absent.
Glumes present, or absent; when present, two (then reduced or awn-shaped); minute to relatively large (reduced to small stumps, or aristate and exceeding the rachis internodes); shorter than the adjacent lemmas; free; lateral to the rachis, or displaced (but the spikelets edgewise to the rachis); when present, subulate, or not subulate (then reduced); awned (awn-like). Lower glume 0 nerved, or 1 nerved. Upper glume 0 nerved, or 1 nerved. Spikelets with incomplete florets. The incomplete florets distal to the female-fertile florets. Spikelets without proximal incomplete florets.
Female-fertile florets 1–2. Lemmas decidedly firmer than the glumes; awnless, or mucronate, or awned. Awns when present, 1; apical; non-geniculate; entered by one vein. Lemmas hairless; carinate to non-carinate; 9 nerved. Palea present; relatively long; 2-nerved; 2-keeled. Lodicules present; 2; free; membranous; ciliate; toothed, or not toothed. Stamens 3. Anthers 5–10 mm long (? - ‘long’); not penicillate. Ovary hairy. Styles free to their bases. Stigmas 2.
Fruit, embryo and seedling. Fruit adhering to lemma and/or palea (to the palea); longitudinally grooved. Hilum long-linear (nearly as long as the caryopsis). Embryo small.
Abaxial leaf blade epidermis. Costal/intercostal zonation conspicuous. Papillae absent. Long-cells similar in shape costally and intercostally (long rectangles); of similar wall thickness costally and intercostally (fairly thick walled). Mid-intercostal long-cells rectangular and fusiform; having straight or only gently undulating walls. Microhairs absent. Stomata absent or very rare; 42–46.5 microns long. Subsidiaries dome-shaped. Guard-cells overlapped by the interstomatals. Intercostal short-cells absent or very rare; silicified. Costal short-cells neither distinctly grouped into long rows nor predominantly paired. Costal silica bodies horizontally-elongated crenate/sinuous (and some rather square and crenate).
Transverse section of leaf blade, physiology. C3; XyMS+. Mesophyll with non-radiate chlorenchyma. Leaf blade with distinct, prominent adaxial ribs; with the ribs more or less constant in size. Midrib conspicuous; with one bundle only. Combined sclerenchyma girders present; forming ‘figures’.
Cytology. Chromosome base number, x = 7. 2n = 28. 4 ploid. Haplomic genome content H and S.
Taxonomy. Pooideae; Triticodae; Triticeae.
Distribution, ecology, phytogeography. 2 species; New Zealand.
Antarctic. New Zealand.
References, etc. Morphological/taxonomic: Löve and Connor 1982; Löve 1984. Leaf anatomical: this project.
Special comments. Fruit 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).