Grass Genera of the World

L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz


Cynochloris

Habit, vegetative morphology. Perennial; stoloniferous, or caespitose, or decumbent. Culms 10–50 cm high; herbaceous; self-supporting, or decumbent; branched above (branching at lower nodes); 3–9 noded. Culm nodes glabrous. Culm leaves present. Upper culm leaf blades fully developed. Leaves non-auriculate. Leaf blades linear; narrow; 0.5–1.5 mm wide; flat, or folded; without abaxial multicellular glands; persistent; once-folded in bud; an unfringed membrane (ciliolate to ciliate), or a fringe of hairs; 0.2–0.5 mm long. Contra-ligule absent.

Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual, with bisexual spikelets; with hermaphrodite florets; outbreeding.

Inflorescence. Inflorescence of spicate main branches; digitate. Primary inflorescence branches 2–5. Inflorescence espatheate; not comprising ‘partial inflorescences’ and foliar organs. Spikelet-bearing axes paired, or clustered. Spikelets solitary; secund; biseriate; subsessile, or pedicellate; imbricate.

Female-fertile spikelets. Spikelets compressed laterally; disarticulating above the glumes; with conventional internode spacings. The upper floret not stipitate. Rachilla prolonged beyond the uppermost female-fertile floret; the rachilla extension with incomplete florets. Hairy callus present. Callus short; blunt.

Glumes two; very unequal, or more or less equal; about equalling the spikelets; long relative to the adjacent lemmas; hairless; glabrous, or scabrous; pointed (acute); awnless; carinate; similar. Lower glume relatively smooth; 1 nerved. Upper glume 1 nerved. Spikelets with incomplete florets. The incomplete florets distal to the female-fertile florets. The distal incomplete florets 1; merely underdeveloped; awned.

Female-fertile florets 1. Lemmas decidedly firmer than the glumes; smooth; not becoming indurated; incised; 2 lobed; awned. Awns 1; median; hairless (scabrous); much shorter than the body of the lemma. Lemmas hairy, or hairless; glabrous, or scabrous; carinate. The keel wingless. Lemmas 3 nerved. Palea present; relatively long; awnless, without apical setae; not indurated; 2-nerved; 2-keeled. Palea keels scabrous, or hairy. Lodicules present; 2; free; fleshy. Stamens 3. Anthers 0.8–1 mm long; without an apically prolonged connective. Stigmas 2; red pigmented.

Transverse section of leaf blade, physiology. C4.

Taxonomy. Chloridoideae; main chloridoid assemblage.

Distribution, ecology, phytogeography. 2 species; Australia.

Australian.


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).

Index