Poaceae
Arthraxon
Arthraxon hispidus

Arthraxon hispidus var. hispidus

This variety is accepted
The native range of this variety is Tropical Africa, W. Indian Ocean, Asia to E. Australia. It is an annual or perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Gramineae, T. A. Cope. Flora Zambesiaca 10:4. 2002

Morphology General Habit
Straggling, delicate annual; culms up to 80 cm long, much branched.
Morphology Leaves Ligules
Ligule 0.5 mm long; leaf lamina 2–6 cm × 4–12 mm, lanceolate to narrowly ovate, cordate and amplexicaul at the base, loosely pilose and often with bulbous-based hairs on the margins, acute at the apex.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Racemes 2–14 in fascicles borne on long exserted peduncles, 1.5–5 cm long, ± terete, greenish-yellow or purplish; internodes filiform, with silvery-white appressed hairs 1–2 mm long at the summit; pedicels absent.
Sessile
Sessile spikelet 3.2–4 mm long; inferior glume rounded on the back, narrowly ovate, ± scabrid, awnless; superior glume strongly convex on the back with broad hyaline margins, acute to mucronate at the apex; awn of superior lemma 7–10 mm long; anthers 0.6–0.9 mm long, dark red.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Pedicelled spikelet absent. Sessile spikelet 3.2–4 mm long; inferior glume rounded on the back, narrowly ovate, ± scabrid, awnless; superior glume strongly convex on the back with broad hyaline margins, acute to mucronate at the apex; awn of superior lemma 7–10 mm long; anthers 0.6–0.9 mm long, dark red.
Pedicelled
Pedicelled spikelet absent.
[FZ]

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

Morphology General Habit
Annual; culms slender, 7–60(–100) cm. long, trailing.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades lanceolate to narrowly ovate, 1–8 cm. long, 3–20 mm. wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence of 2–30 fasciculate racemes, each 2–4 cm. long; internodes ciliate, often sparsely so, the hairs seldom over 0.5 mm. long (very rarely glabrous).
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Sessile spikelet narrowly lanceolate, 2.5–4.5 mm. long; lower glume chartaceous, strongly convex on the back, scaberulous to scabrid especially near the tip; upper glume acute to mucronate; awn 4–8 mm. long; 2 anthers 0.3–0.8 mm. long.
Sessile
Sessile spikelet narrowly lanceolate, 2.5–4.5 mm. long; lower glume chartaceous, strongly convex on the back, scaberulous to scabrid especially near the tip; upper glume acute to mucronate; awn 4–8 mm. long; 2 anthers 0.3–0.8 mm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Pedicel
Pedicel reduced to a subulate point 0.1–0.6 mm. long, glabrous or occasionally ciliate (rarely linear and up to 2 mm. long, very rarely bearing a spikelet).
Figures
Fig. 173.
Habitat
Shady glades and pathsides in wooded grassland and upland evergreen forest, extending onto old farmland and damp rocks; 650–2600 m.
Distribution
K3 K5 T2 T3 T4 T6 T7 T8 U1 U2 U3 tropical Africa, extending through India and Sri Lanka to Thailandintroduced to central America and the Caribbean
[FTEA]

Gramineae, W. D. Clayton. Flora of West Tropical Africa 3:2. 1972

Morphology General Habit
Decumbent annual with tough wiry stems rooting at the lower nodes
Ecology
Shady clearings.
[FWTA]

Sources

  • Flora Zambesiaca

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

  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

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

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

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

  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • 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