Sporobolus welwitschii Rendle

First published in W.P.Hiern, Cat. Afr. Pl. 2: 207 (1899)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is S. DR Congo to S. Africa. It is a perennial and grows primarily in the seasonally dry tropical biome.

Descriptions

Morphology General Habit
Perennial; caespitose. Rhizomes short. Butt sheaths persistent and investing base of culm; with compacted dead sheaths. Culms 60-70 cm long. Leaves cauline. Ligule a fringe of hairs. Leaf-blades filiform; 4-8 cm long; 1-2 mm wide.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Inflorescence a panicle. Panicle open; ovate; effuse; 4-11 cm long. Primary panicle branches spreading. Panicle branches capillary; bearded in axils. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets pedicelled.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; subterete; 0.8-2.1 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
Fertile
Spikelets comprising 1 fertile florets; without rhachilla extension. Spikelets lanceolate; subterete; 0.8-2.1 mm long; breaking up at maturity; disarticulating below each fertile floret.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume
Glumes deciduous; similar; shorter than spikelet; similar to fertile lemma in texture; shiny. Lower glume lanceolate; 0.5 length of upper glume; membranous; without keels; 0 -veined. Lower glume lateral veins absent. Lower glume apex obtuse. Upper glume lanceolate; 0.66 length of adjacent fertile lemma; hyaline; without keels; 1 -veined. Upper glume lateral veins absent. Upper glume apex acute.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Florets
Fertile lemma ovate; 0.8-2.1 mm long; membranous; shiny; without keel; 1 -veined. Lemma apex acute. Palea 2 -veined. Palea keels approximate.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Anthers 3.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Caryopsis with free soft pericarp.
Distribution
Africa: west-central tropical, southern tropical, and south.
Reference
Eragrostideae. Gr S Afr 1993.
[GB]

Gramineae, T. Cope. Flora Zambesiaca 10:2. 1999

Morphology General Habit
Caespitose perennial arising from a short oblique rhizome; culms up to 60 cm tall, erect, unbranched; basal leaf sheaths firmly chartaceous to subcoriaceous, glabrous and glossy, terete, persistent; leaf laminas 2–10 cm × 0.75–1.5 mm, weakly involute-filiform, pubescent to pilose above, glabrous to pilose beneath, cartilaginous and scabrid on the margins, acute at the apex.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Panicle 3–20 cm long, narrowly ovate, very diffuse; primary branches not in whorls, sub-dichotomously branched, the branchlets and pedicels capillary, smooth or scaberulous, eglandular, widely diverging, with a distinct pulvinus in the axils, this glabrous to thinly bearded with long white hairs, the spikelets evenly distributed.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets
Spikelets (0.9)1.4–1.8 mm long, dark greyish-green; inferior glume 1/3–1/2 the length of the spikelet, broadly elliptic, nerveless, glabrous, obtuse at the apex; superior glume 1/2–3/4(4/5) the length of the spikelet, ovate, nerveless, glabrous, obtuse to subacute at the apex; lemma as long as the spikelet, 1-nerved, narrowly ovate, subacute at the apex; palea 1-nerved; rhachilla not produced; anthers 3, 0.7–1 mm long.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Grain 0.6–0.8 mm long, narrowly elliptic to elliptic.
[FZ]

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]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

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

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • 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/
  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. 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 2024. 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