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Hymenachne aurita (J. Presl ex Nees) Balansa; H. insuli-cola (Steudel) L. Liu; Panicum insulicola Steudel; Sacciolepis insulicola (Steudel) Ohwi.

Perennial, rhizomatous. Culms geniculately ascending, branched, up to 4 m long, nodes glabrous. Leaves cauline; leaf sheaths shorter than internodes, glabrous, sometimes ciliate on margins and at throat, striate; leaf blades linear, 10–60 × 0.5–2.5(–3.5) cm, glabrous, base cordate, apex acuminate; ligule short, membranous, ca. 0.5 mm. Panicle contracted to spikelike, 10–45 cm; branches appressed, glabrous, scabrid. Spikelets lanceolate or elliptic, 2–3 mm, glabrous, acute; lower glume ovate, 1/3 length of spikelet, membranous, 3-veined; upper glume as long as spikelet, 5–7-veined; lower lemma similar to upper glume, palea poorly developed; upper floret as long as spikelet, pale yellow, smooth, shiny. Fl. and fr. Aug–Oct.

Streams, lakesides, forest margins. Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, Yunnan [Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Guinea, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam].

Panicum auritum may be confused with Hymenachne amplexicaulis, since both species have a similarly contracted panicle. The Hy-menachne may be distinguished by the membranous upper lemma, which clasps the palea only at the base, leaving it free at the apex, and by the larger spikelets 4.5–6 mm.