大穗苞茅 da sui bao mao

Perennial. Culms erect, 1–2 m tall. Leaf sheaths pilose along margin and mouth, becoming glabrescent; leaf blades up to 40 × 0.4–0.8 cm, white pilose near base on adaxial surface; ligule ca. 3 mm. Spathate panicle lax, narrow; spatheoles linear, 4–7 cm, inrolled, brown; peduncle 2/3 as long to slightly longer than spatheole, flexuous, white setose. Racemes 5–10-awned per pair, white hairy, loose, reflexed at maturity; raceme bases unequal, terete, glabrous, the upper filiform, 3.5–8 mm; 1 pair of homogamous spikelets at base of both lower and upper raceme of pair. Sessile spikelet 6–7 mm; callus pungent, 1.5–2 mm, white bearded; lower glume lanceolate, brownish to dark violet, white hirsute; awn 4–6 cm, the column pubescent with brown 0.4–0.6 mm hairs. Pedicelled spikelet 6–8 mm, villous, tipped with a 1–4 mm bristle.

Usually in forest understory; ca. 700 m. SW Yunnan (Gengma) [NE India, N Myanmar; Africa].

This species resembles Hyparrhenia filipendula in its white-hairy racemes, long, slender upper raceme base, and long awns. It can be distinguished by the sparser panicle, strongly reflexing racemes at maturity, and the greater number of awns per raceme pair.