Sclerostachya A. Camus
From the Greek skleros (hard) and stachys (‘ear of corn’, spike), referring to rigid inflorescence axes.
Sometimes referred to Saccharum (subgenus Sclerostachyum), Miscanthus
Habit, vegetative morphology. Robust perennial; often forming large clumps. Culms 200–300 cm high; herbaceous. Leaf blades linear-lanceolate (rigid, often very long); broad, or narrow; flat; pseudopetiolate; without cross venation; an unfringed membrane.
Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual, with bisexual spikelets; with hermaphrodite florets. The spikelets homomorphic.
Inflorescence. Inflorescence paniculate; open (large, narrow, decompound, with whorled or fascicled branches); without capillary branchlets (the branches not slender); espatheate; not comprising ‘partial inflorescences’ and foliar organs. Spikelet-bearing axes persistent (but the branches jointed). Spikelets paired; not secund; all pedicellate; consistently in ‘long-and-short’ combinations; unequally pedicellate in each combination. Pedicels of the ‘pedicellate’ spikelets free of the rachis. The ‘shorter’ spikelets hermaphrodite. The ‘longer’ spikelets hermaphrodite.
Female-fertile spikelets. Spikelets compressed dorsiventrally; falling with the glumes (falling from the pedicels). Rachilla terminated by a female-fertile floret. Hairy callus present (short, the silky hairs up to half the length of the spikelet).
Glumes two; more or less equal; long relative to the adjacent lemmas; hairless (firm, smooth); awnless; carinate (G2), or non-carinate (G1); very dissimilar (the G2 flat-backed, with two ciliate submarginal keels, notched, the G2 naviculate). Lower glume two-keeled; 3 nerved. Upper glume 3 nerved. Spikelets with incomplete florets. The incomplete florets proximal to the female-fertile florets. Spikelets with proximal incomplete florets. The proximal incomplete florets 1; sterile. The proximal lemmas awnless; similar in texture to the female-fertile lemmas (with hyaline, narrow, ciliate margins); not becoming indurated.
Female-fertile florets 1. Lemmas not incised; less firm than the glumes (hyaline); not becoming indurated; entire; awnless; hairy; non-carinate; without a germination flap. Palea present; conspicuous but relatively short; awnless, without apical setae; not indurated (hyaline); keel-less. Lodicules present; 2; free; glabrous. Stamens 3. Ovary glabrous. Styles free to their bases. Stigmas 2.
Fruit, embryo and seedling. Fruit brown; smooth.
Phytochemistry. Leaves without flavonoid sulphates (1 species).
Cytology. 2n = 30, 48, and 96.
Taxonomy. Panicoideae; Andropogonodae; Andropogoneae; Andropogoninae.
Distribution, ecology, phytogeography. 2–3 species; India to Malaysia.
Paleotropical. Indomalesian. Indian, Indo-Chinese, and Malesian.
Hybrids. Intergeneric hybrids with Narenga, Saccharum.
Rusts and smuts. Rusts — Puccinia. Smuts from Ustilaginaceae. Ustilaginaceae — Ustilago.
Special comments. 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).