Grass Genera of the World

L. Watson and M. J. Dallwitz


Streblochaete Hochst.

Including Koordersiochloa Merr., Pseudostreptogyne A. Camus

Habit, vegetative morphology. Perennial; caespitose. Culms 30–100 cm high; herbaceous; unbranched above. Leaves non-auriculate. Sheath margins joined. Leaf blades linear-lanceolate; rolled; without cross venation; an unfringed membrane; not truncate; 3–12 mm long.

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

Inflorescence. Inflorescence paniculate; open (narrow); espatheate; not comprising ‘partial inflorescences’ and foliar organs. Spikelet-bearing axes persistent. Spikelets secund to not secund (the panicle sometimes unilateral), or not secund; pedicellate.

Female-fertile spikelets. Spikelets 16–28 mm long; not noticeably compressed; disarticulating above the glumes; disarticulating between the florets. Rachilla prolonged beyond the uppermost female-fertile floret; the rachilla extension with incomplete florets. Hairy callus present. Callus long; pointed.

Glumes present; two; very unequal; shorter than the spikelets; shorter than the adjacent lemmas; hairless; pointed; awnless; non-carinate (rounded dorsally); similar (narrow, membranous-herbaceous with hyaline margins). Lower glume 3 nerved. Upper glume 5 nerved (with transverse linking). Spikelets with incomplete florets. The incomplete florets distal to the female-fertile florets. The distal incomplete florets several, in a lanceolate cluster; merely underdeveloped (male or sterile). Spikelets without proximal incomplete florets.

Female-fertile florets 2–6. Lemmas similar in texture to the glumes to decidedly firmer than the glumes (herbaceous); not becoming indurated (or hardening slightly); shortly incised (to nearly entire); slightly 2 lobed; not deeply cleft; awned. Awns 1; median; dorsal; from near the top; geniculate (the very long, filiform awns coiling and intertwining with one another, so that the spikelet is dispersed as a unit); hairless (scabrid); much longer than the body of the lemma (distally filiform); entered by one vein. Lemmas hairless; non-carinate (dorsally rounded); without a germination flap; 7 nerved. Palea present; conspicuous but relatively short (about half the lemma length); apically notched; not indurated (herbaceous); 2-nerved; 2-keeled. Lodicules present; 2; free; membranous; ciliate, or glabrous; not toothed; not or scarcely vascularized. Stamens 3. Ovary glabrous. Styles free to their bases. Stigmas 2.

Fruit, embryo and seedling. Fruit longitudinally grooved; compressed dorsiventrally. Hilum short. Embryo small. Endosperm hard.

Abaxial leaf blade epidermis. Costal/intercostal zonation conspicuous. Papillae absent. Long-cells the costal long-cells narrower; differing markedly in wall thickness costally and intercostally (the costals thicker). Mid-intercostal long-cells rectangular; having markedly sinuous walls. Microhairs absent. Stomata absent or very rare. Intercostal short-cells common; not paired; not silicified. Prickles present over the veins. Costal short-cells neither distinctly grouped into long rows nor predominantly paired. Costal silica bodies horizontally-elongated crenate/sinuous; not sharp-pointed.

Transverse section of leaf blade, physiology. C3; XyMS+. Sclerenchyma all associated with vascular bundles.

Cytology. Chromosome base number, x = 10.

Taxonomy. Pooideae; Poodae; Meliceae.

Distribution, ecology, phytogeography. 1 species; tropical Africa, Java, Lombok, Philippines; montane. Mesophytic; shade species; glycophytic. Montane forest glades.

Paleotropical. African, Madagascan, and Indomalesian. Sudano-Angolan and West African Rainforest. Malesian. Sahelo-Sudanian, Somalo-Ethiopian, and South Tropical African.

References, etc. Morphological/taxonomic: Tateoka 1965b. Leaf anatomical: this project.

Illustrations. • General morphology


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