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| Synonyms: |
Melinis congesta Mez Melinis nitens Mez Melinis rosea (Nees) Hackel Melinis stolzii Mez Monachyron roseum (Nees) Parl. Monachyron tonsum (Nees) Parl. Panicum roseum (Nees) Steudel Panicum tonsum (Nees) Steudel Rhynchelytrum dregeanum Nees Rhynchelytrum gossweileri Stapf & Hubbard Rhynchelytrum repens (Willd.) Hubbard Rhynchelytrum repens var. roseum (Nees) Chiov. Rhynchelytrum roseum (Nees) Stapf & Hubbard Rhynchelytrum stolzii (Mez) Stapf & Hubbard Rhynchelytrum tonsum (Nees) Lanza & Mattei Saccharum repens Willd. Tricholaena dregeana (Nees) Dur. & Schinz Tricholaena graciliflora var. collina Rendle Tricholaena repens (Willd.) A.S. Hitchc. Tricholaena rosea Nees Tricholaena tonsa Nees |
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| Description: |
Tufted annual to short-lived perennial. Culms 20–150 cm. high, geniculately ascending and often rooting at lower nodes. Leaf laminae 4–20(27) cm. long, 2–12(14) mm. wide, flat. Panicle (6)8–20 cm. long, broadly ovate; pedicels with a few long hairs. Spikelets 2–12 mm. long, ovate. Inferior glume (0.3)0.6–3(4.3) mm. long, narrowly ovate, 0–1-nerved, separated from the superior by an internode (0.1)0.2–1.7(2) mm. long; superior glume 5-nerved, membranous to subcoriaceous, usually gibbous on the back, hairy or glabrous, often tapering to a glabrous beak, emarginate, awned or mucronate. Inferior floret male, its lemma 5-nerved, resembling the superior glume but less gibbous, the palea ciliate on its keels.Very variable and formerly divided into 2–4 species according to hairiness of the spikelet, growth-form and length of the internode between the glumes. Hairiness and colour of the spikelet, as well as growth-form, prove to be of no taxonomic value. Four weakly separated infraspecific groups (3 in the Flora Zambesiaca region) are recognized. Typical specimens can be identified easily, but frequent intergradation occurs between the infraspecific groups.The length of the internode between the glumes varies quite continuously but, together with spikelet length, is the best character for separating the three groups. Single specimens approach M. ambigua subsp. longicauda and M.nerviglumis (introgression?). If the basal parts are missing, discrimination between M.repens and M. subglabra is hardly possible. |
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| Worldwide distribution: | Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe |
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| Spot characters: | Display spot characters for this species |
| Literature: |
Isaiah, A.M. & Komi, T. (2015). Grasses in the Botswana National Botanic Garden South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria Page 26. (Includes a picture). Jackson, G. & Wiehe, P.O. (1958). An Annotated Check List of Nyasaland Grasses The Government Printer, Zomba, Nyasaland Pages 55 - 56. As Rhynchelytrum repens and R. stolzii |
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