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  1. Family: Poaceae Barnhart

    1. Desmostachya (Stapf) Stapf

        2. This genus is accepted, and its native range is Sahara to Tanzania and Indo-China.

    [GB]

    nonem

    Habit
    Perennial. Rhizomes elongated. Culms erect; 50-100 cm long. Ligule a ciliate membrane. Leaf-blades coriaceous; stiff.
    Inflorescences
    Inflorescence composed of racemes. Racemes borne along a central axis; in a multilateral false spike; spreading; oblong; unilateral. Rhachis semiterete. Spikelet packing broadside to rhachis; crowded. Spikelets spreading; solitary. Fertile spikelets sessile.
    Spikelets
    Spikelets comprising 2-18 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong; laterally compressed; 2.5-13 mm long; falling entire.
    Fertile
    Spikelets comprising 2-18 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets oblong; laterally compressed; 2.5-13 mm long; falling entire.
    Glume
    Glumes shorter than spikelet. Lower glume ovate; 0.5 length of upper glume; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume ovate; 0.5 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Upper glume apex acute.
    Florets
    Fertile lemma ovate; laterally compressed; membranous; keeled; 3 -veined. Lemma midvein scaberulous. Lemma lateral veins obscure. Lemma apex acute. Palea 1 length of lemma; 2 -veined. Palea keels scaberulous. Palea apex entire. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
    Flowers
    Lodicules 2; fleshy; entire; emarginate. Anthers 3. Stigmas 2.
    Fruits
    Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; ovoid; trigonous. Embryo 0.3-0.4 length of caryopsis. Hilum punctiform.
    Distribution
    Africa, or Temperate Asia, or Tropical Asia.

    Images

    Distribution

    Native to:

    Afghanistan, Algeria, Andaman Is., Assam, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Central African Repu, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gulf States, Hainan, India, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Laos, Lebanon-Syria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Myanmar, Nepal, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sinai, Socotra, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tunisia, Uganda, Vietnam, West Himalaya, Yemen

    Introduced into:

    Cocos (Keeling) Is., Lesser Sunda Is.

    Desmostachya (Stapf) Stapf appears in other Kew resources:

    First published in W.H.Harvey & auct. suc. (eds.), Fl. Cap. 7: 632 (1900)

    Accepted by

    • Govaerts, R.H.A. (2011). World checklist of selected plant families published update Facilitated by the Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

    Sources

    GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

    Kew Backbone Distributions
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2019. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

    Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone
    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2019. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/
    © Copyright 2017 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0