Ischnochloa J.D. Hook.
Sometimes referred to Microstegium
Habit, vegetative morphology. Small, delicate annual. Culms 10–20 cm high; herbaceous. Leaves not basally aggregated. Leaf blades oblong elliptic; narrow (but relatively broad); not setaceous; a fringed membrane.
Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual, with bisexual spikelets; with hermaphrodite florets. The spikelets all alike in sexuality (homogamous).
Inflorescence. Inflorescence a single terminal ‘raceme’. Rachides flattened. Inflorescence espatheate; not comprising ‘partial inflorescences’ and foliar organs. Spikelet-bearing axes ‘racemes’; solitary; with very slender rachides (these flattened); persistent. Spikelets paired; not secund; sessile and pedicellate; consistently in ‘long-and-short’ combinations; in pedicellate/sessile combinations. Pedicels of the ‘pedicellate’ spikelets free of the rachis. The ‘shorter’ spikelets hermaphrodite. The ‘longer’ spikelets hermaphrodite.
Female-fertile spikelets. Spikelets small; compressed dorsiventrally. Rachilla terminated by a female-fertile floret. Hairy callus present. Callus short.
Glumes two; more or less equal; long relative to the adjacent lemmas; free; without conspicuous tufts or rows of hairs; not pointed; awnless. Lower glume two-keeled (the keels ciliolate); deeply or shallowly sulcate on the back; not pitted; relatively smooth; 5–6 nerved. Upper glume 3 nerved. Spikelets with female-fertile florets only; without proximal incomplete florets.
Female-fertile florets 1. Lemmas less firm than the glumes (glumes almost leathery, lemma hyaline); not becoming indurated; incised; 2 lobed; deeply cleft; awned. Awns 1; median; from a sinus; geniculate; much longer than the body of the lemma. Lemmas hairless; non-carinate; without a germination flap; 1 nerved. Palea present; not indurated (scarious). Lodicules present; 2; free; fleshy; glabrous. Stamens 3. Anthers not penicillate; without an apically prolonged connective. Ovary glabrous. Styles fused. Stigmas 2.
Taxonomy. Panicoideae; Andropogonodae; Andropogoneae; Andropogoninae.
Distribution, ecology, phytogeography. 1 species; Himalayas. Growing in moss at 1800–2100 m altitude.
Holarctic and Paleotropical. Boreal. Indomalesian. Eastern Asian. Indian.
References, etc. Morphological/taxonomic: Hooker 1896.
Special comments. Fruit data wanting. Anatomical 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).