Poaceae
Urochloa

Urochloa semiundulata (Hochst. ex A.Rich.) Ashal. & V.J.Nair

First published in Bull. Bot. Surv. India 35: 30 (1993 publ. 1997)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Ethiopia to Tanzania, Indian Subcontinent, China (Yunnan), Hainan. It is an annual and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Morphology General Habit
Annual; caespitose. Culms geniculately ascending; 5-40 cm long. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades lanceolate, or ovate; 1-4 cm long; 2-15 mm wide. Leaf-blade margins cartilaginous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence composed of racemes. Racemes 3-18; borne along a central axis; unilateral; 0.5-1 cm long. Central inflorescence axis 1-6 cm long. Rhachis wingless; angular. Spikelet packing adaxial; regular; 2 -rowed. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets sessile.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets orbicular; dorsally compressed; compressed slightly; gibbous (almost hemispherical); obtuse, or subacute; 1.5-2 mm long; falling entire.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 1 basal sterile florets; 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets orbicular; dorsally compressed; compressed slightly; gibbous (almost hemispherical); obtuse, or subacute; 1.5-2 mm long; falling entire.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes dissimilar; reaching apex of florets; thinner than fertile lemma. Lower glume ovate; 0.33 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 1-3 -veined. Lower glume apex obtuse, or acute. Upper glume oblong; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; without keels; 5 -veined. Upper glume surface glabrous, or pubescent. Upper glume apex acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Basal sterile florets barren; with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to upper glume; elliptic; 1 length of spikelet; membranous; 5 -veined; glabrous, or pubescent; acute. Fertile lemma elliptic; hemispherical; 1.5-2 mm long; indurate; without keel. Lemma surface granulose, or striate. Lemma margins involute. Lemma apex acute. Palea involute; indurate; without keels.
Distribution
Africa: west-central tropical, northeast tropical, and east tropical. Asia-temperate: China. Asia-tropical: India.
Reference
Paniceae. FTEA.
[GB]

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

Morphology General Habit
Loosely tufted annual; culms 5–40 cm. high, ascending.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades narrowly lanceolate to ovate, 1–4 cm. long, 2–15 mm. wide, the margins cartilaginous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence of 3–18 racemes on an axis 1–6 cm. long; racemes 0.5–1 cm. long, bearing single spikelets (rarely clusters of 2–several at base of longer racemes) in 2 compact rows on a triquetrous rhachis.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets plump, strongly gibbous, almost hemispherical, 1.5–2 mm. long, glabrous to pubescent, obtuse to subacute, without a stipe; lower glume 1/3 the length of the spikelet; upper lemma granulose to striate, acute.
Habitat
Deciduous bushland to upland grassland, usually in weedy places; 1100–2600 m.
Distribution
K1 K3 K4 K5 K6 T1 T2 T4 T5 T6 T7 U1 U3
[FTEA]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

  • 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

    • Clayton, W.D., Vorontsova, M.S., Harman, K.T. and Williamson, H. (2006 onwards). 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 Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0

  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2026. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0