Poaceae
Chloris

Chloris robusta Stapf

First published in Mém. Soc. Bot. France 8: 221 (1912)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is W. Tropical Africa to Uganda. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

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

Morphology General Habit
Perennial; culms robust, 1–3 m. high, erect or decumbent, woody and branching, often rooting at the lower nodes.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades flat, folded or inrolled, 15–40 cm. long, 3–8 mm. wide, tapering towards the apex.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence of 10–28 digitate or subdigitate, loose or spreading, silky spikes (8–)10–15(–20) cm. long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets 3-flowered, shortly 2-awned; lower glume 2–3 mm. long; upper glume 4–5.5 mm. long; lowest lemma lanceolate in side view, 3–4 mm. long, pallid with a tuft of long cilia up to 4 mm. long on the margin, scabrid on the keel, glabrous on the flanks, the awn 1–3.5 mm. long; callus rounded, ciliate; 2nd lemma often hermaphrodite, 2.5–4 mm. long with tufts of long cilia on the margin, projecting from the side of the lowest lemma and similar in shape, the awn 0.5–1.5 mm. long; 3rd lemma a lanceolate scale 1–2 mm. long, occasionally with marginal cilia and an awn-point.
Figures
Fig. 96/1, p. 338.
Habitat
Beside and in the bed of rivers and streams, on sandy soils; 100–1260 m.
Distribution
U1 Sierra Leone eastwards to Sudan
[FTEA]

Morphology General Habit
Perennial; caespitose. Culms geniculately ascending, or decumbent; 100-300 cm long; woody; without nodal roots, or rooting from lower nodes. Lateral branches ample. Leaf-sheaths keeled. Ligule a ciliolate membrane. Leaf-blades flat, or conduplicate, or involute; 15-40 cm long; 3-8 mm wide. Leaf-blade apex attenuate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence composed of racemes. Racemes 10-28; digitate; spreading, or ascending; unilateral; (8-)10-15(-20) cm long. Spikelet packing broadside to rhachis. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets sessile.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets cuneate; laterally compressed; 4-5.5 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus bearded; obtuse.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; with diminished florets at the apex. Spikelets cuneate; laterally compressed; 4-5.5 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret. Floret callus bearded; obtuse.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes persistent; similar; exceeding apex of florets; thinner than fertile lemma; gaping. Lower glume lanceolate; 2-3 mm long; 0.5 length of upper glume; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex acute. Upper glume lanceolate; 4-5.5 mm long; 1.1-1.3 length of adjacent fertile lemma; membranous; 1-keeled; 1 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile lemma elliptic; laterally compressed; lanceolate in profile; 3-4 mm long; cartilaginous; pallid; keeled; 3 -veined. Lemma midvein scaberulous. Lemma lateral veins close to margins. Lemma margins ciliate; hairy in the middle. Lemma hairs 4 mm long. Lemma apex acute; awned; 1 -awned. Principal lemma awn subapical; 1-3.5 mm long overall. Apical sterile florets 2 in number; dissimilar. First apical floret male (rarely bisexual); lanceolate; 2.5-4 mm long; pilose (on margins); awned (0.5-1.5mm long). Apical sterile florets barren; separate; lanceolate; 1-2 mm long. Apical sterile lemmas glabrous, or pilose; adorned on margins; muticous, or mucronate. Apical sterile lemma awns 1 per spikelet in number.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Lodicules 2; cuneate; fleshy. Anthers 3. Stigmas 2.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with adherent pericarp; trigonous. Hilum punctiform.
Distribution
Africa: west tropical, west-central tropical, northeast tropical, and east tropical.
Reference
Cynodonteae. FTEA.
[GB]

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

Morphology General Habit
Robust perennial 1–2 m. high
Morphology Leaves
Glaucous leaves
Morphology Stem
With the culms often thick woody below
Ecology
In sandy river beds.
[FWTA]

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]

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/136642236/136642240

Conservation
LC - least concern
[IUCN]

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

  • Flora of West Tropical Africa

    • Flora of West Tropical 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

    • '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/

  • IUCN Categories

    • IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/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