Family:
Poaceae Barnhart
Genus:
Tripogon Roem. & Schult.

Tripogon montanus Chiov.

This species is accepted, and its native range is NE. Tropical Africa to Uganda, SW. Arabian Peninsula.

[GB]
Morphology General Habit
Perennial; caespitose. Culms erect; 6-33 cm long. Ligule a ciliolate membrane. Leaf-blades filiform; involute; 2.5-15 cm long; 0.5-0.75 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface pilose; sparsely hairy; hairy adaxially. Leaf-blade apex acuminate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence composed of racemes. Racemes 1; single; erect, or drooping; straight, or flexuous; unilateral; 3-15 cm long. Rhachis angular. Spikelet packing broadside to rhachis; 0.25-0.33 their length apart; regular; 2 -rowed. Spikelets appressed; solitary. Fertile spikelets sessile.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 3-5 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets cuneate; laterally compressed; 8.5-15 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Rhachilla internodes villous; hairy below. Floret callus pilose.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 3-5 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets cuneate; laterally compressed; 8.5-15 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Rhachilla internodes villous; hairy below. Floret callus pilose.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes persistent; similar; shorter than spikelet. Lower glume linear, or lanceolate; 1.3-4.3 mm long; 0.3-0.5 length of upper glume; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute, or acuminate. Upper glume linear, or lanceolate; 4.5-8.4 mm long; 1.3-1.6 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Upper glume apex caudate, or acuminate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile lemma elliptic; 3.5-5.2 mm long; membranous; black; without keel; 3 -veined. Lemma surface scaberulous. Lemma apex dentate; 2 -fid; awned; 3 -awned. Principal lemma awn from a sinus; flexuous; 4-10 mm long overall. Lateral lemma awns arising on outer edge of lobes; 0.5-1.5 mm long; shorter than principal. Palea 1 length of lemma; 2 -veined. Palea keels wingless; ciliolate. Apical sterile florets resembling fertile though underdeveloped.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Anthers 3; 1.4-2 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; linear, or oblong; isodiametric; biconvex; 1.4-1.7 mm long.
Distribution
Africa: northeast tropical and east tropical. Asia-temperate: Arabia.
Reference
Eragrostideae. FTEA.

[FTEA]

Gramineae, W. D. Clayton, S. M. Phillips & S. A. Renvoize. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1974

Morphology General Habit
Slender densely tufted perennial; culms 6–33 cm. high, erect.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades filiform, involute, 2.5–15 cm. long, 0.5–0.75 mm. wide when flattened, the upper surface sparsely pilose, the lower surface glabrous, tapering and keeled towards the tip.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Spikes 3–15 cm. long, slender, erect or drooping, straight or often slightly flexuous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 3–5-flowered, wedge-shaped, 8.5–15 mm. long, loosely overlapping by a third of their length or less (excluding awns), blackish; glumes 1-nerved, very narrow, unequal, firmly membranous, lower glume linear-lanceolate, 1.3–4.3 mm. long, acute or acuminate, upper glume linear-lanceolate to linear-oblong, 4.5–8.4 mm. long, sometimes exceeding the lower lemmas, acuminate to caudate; lemmas narrowly elliptic, 3.5–5.2 mm. long, firmly membranous, minutely scaberulous, obtusely angular on the back, abruptly narrowed above the middle, the lateral nerves passing into short awns 0.5–1.5 mm. long; central awn 4–10 mm. long, twisted and often intertwined with the awns of the following florets; anthers 3, 1.4–2 mm. long; callus villous dorsally, densely bearded in front at the base of the rhachilla internode.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis linear-oblong, 1.4–1.7 mm. long, terete.
Habitat
Upland grassland, among rocks; 3350 m.
Distribution
U1

Native to:

Eritrea, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Uganda, Yemen

Tripogon montanus Chiov. appears in other Kew resources:

Date Reference Identified As Barcode Type Status Has image?
Jan 1, 1969 Pappi [1179], Eritrea K000366683 Unknown type material Yes
Jan 1, 1963 Pappi [614], Eritrea K000366684 isolectotype Yes

First published in Annuario Reale Ist. Bot. Roma 8: 351 (1908 publ. 1907)

Accepted by

  • Clayton, W.D., Harman, K.T. & Williamson, H. (2006). World Grass Species - Synonymy database The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Clayton, W.D., Phillips, S.M., Renvoize, S.A. (1974). Gramineae Flora of Tropical East Africa 2: 177-449.
  • Cope, T.A., Knees, S.G. & Miller, A.G. (2007). Flora of the Arabian peninsula and Socotra 5(1): 1-387. Edinburgh University Press.
  • Darbyshire, I., Kordofani, M., Farag, I., Candiga, R. & Pickering, H. (eds.) (2015). The Plants of Sudan and South Sudan: 1-400. Kew publishing, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
  • Hedberg, I. & Edwards, S. (eds.) (1995). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 7: 1-430. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.
  • Wood, J.R.I. (1997). A Handbook of the Yemen Flora: 1-434. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Literature

Kew Backbone Distributions

  • Clayton, W.D., Phillips, S.M., Renvoize, S.A. (1974). Gramineae Flora of Tropical East Africa 2: 177-449.
  • Cope, T.A., Knees, S.G. & Miller, A.G. (2007). Flora of the Arabian peninsula and Socotra 5(1): 1-387. Edinburgh University Press.
  • Hedberg, I. & Edwards, S. (eds.) (1995). Flora of Ethiopia and Eritrea 7: 1-430. The National Herbarium, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia & The Department of Systematic Botany, Upps.

Flora of Tropical East Africa

  • Chiov. in Ann. 1st. Bot. Roma 8: 351 (1908).
  • Phillips & Launert in Kew Bulletin 25: 314, fig. 3/4 (1971).

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    Flora of Tropical East Africa
    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • GrassBase - The Online World Grass Flora

    http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Selected Plant Families 2022. 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 2022. 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