Fuirena striatella Lye

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Type

N2, Ragad, 48°30’E, 10°57’N, Newbould 861 (K holo.)

Morphology General Habit

Tussocky annual; stems few–many, crowded, 2–10 cm long and c. 1 mm thick, often almost terete with longitudinal ridges, glabrous or with a few stiff hairs

Morphology Leaves

Leaves 3–5, the lowermost without or with very short blade; sheaths light reddish brown, brownish or green, densely hairy with short spreading hairs but uppermost sheaths usually glabrescent; ligule c. 1 mm tall, densely short-hairy to glabrous; blades probably to 20 cm or more long and 2–5 mm wide, rather thick, hairy on margin and sometimes on upper surface

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences

Inflorescence a terminal cluster of 3–10 crowded sessile or subsessile spikelets, sometimes with an additional stalked spikelet-cluster from the uppermost sheath of the stem

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Spikelets

Spikelets 4–5 x 2–3 mm, ovate with obtuse apex, with 20–40 densely imbricate glumes

Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences Bracts Glume

Glumes c. 1.5 mm long (excluding the up to 1 mm long mucro), ovate-elliptic, reddish brown to greyish, hairy particularly near margin and on the excurrent greenish midrib

Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Perianth

Perianth-segments usually 6, whitish; the 3 outer filiform, often curved and only 0.2–0.3 mm long; the 3 inner c. 0.8 mm long, filiform below, but ending in a minute irregular or anchor-like blade only c. 0.2 mm wide

Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits

Achene 0.8–1 x c. 0.5 mm, obovate, obtusely triangular, light reddish brown with longitudinally raised ribs and narrow rectangular surface cells between the ribs.

Distribution

N2 not known elsewhere.

Ecology

Altitude range 1350–1400 m.

Note

The nearest relative of this appears to be F. wallichiana Kunth in India.