水蔗草属 shui zhe cao shu

Authors: Bi-xing Sun & Sylvia M. Phillips

Perennial, rambling. Leaf blades linear-lanceolate, often pseudopetiolate; ligule membranous. Inflorescence a single short raceme encircled by a small boat-shaped spatheole; raceme comprising 1 sessile and 2 pedicelled spikelets; spatheoles numerous, crowded into a leafy compound panicle; peduncle very short, spikelet triad deciduous from it at maturity; pedicels both broad, strongly flattened, together with lower glume of sessile spikelet forming a triangular box around fertile floret. Sessile spikelet bisexual, slightly laterally compressed; callus broad, swollen; lower glume herbaceous or subleathery toward base, convex, without keels or wings, 2-toothed; upper glume strongly convex, laterally compressed, membranous with hyaline margins, 1-keeled, awnless; lower floret staminate, well developed with palea; upper lemma deeply 2-lobed and awned from sinus, or entire to emarginate and awnless; awn 4–12 mm. Pedicelled spikelets awnless, unequal, one well developed, staminate, as large as sessile spikelet, the other rudimentary.

One species: S Arabia and Mauritius through India to SE Asia, Australia, and New Caledonia.

Lower Taxon

• Apluda mutica Linnaeus