Panicum mindanaense Merr.

Poaceae

Merrill, E.D. (1906) Philippine Journal of Science 1 (suppl. 5): 360. Type: Mindanao, Lake Lanao, Camp Keithley (99 Clemens) January, February, 1906.

Tufted annual or perennial. Culms erect or geniculately ascending to decumbent, 20-80 cm tall, 3-6-noded, nodes hollow, tinged purple. Lateral branches sparsely branched.

Leaf-blade base broadly rounded. Leaf-blades 3-18 cm long and 1.5-4.5 mm wide. Leaf-sheaths with tubercle-based hairs and prominantly striate. Ligule a fringe of hairs, 0.5-1 mm long.

Inflorescence an open compound panicle standing above the leaves. Panicle, 10-30 cm long, with spikelets clustered towards branch tips. Primary panicle branches spreading, 10-20 cm long, with yellowish brown gland at base, triquetrous, branches bearing 30-80 fertile spikelets on each lower branch. Spikelets solitary. Fertile spikelets 2-flowered, comprising of a lower sterile floret and an upper fertile floret; lanceolate to elliptic or ovate, dorsally compressed, 2-3.5 mm long, falling entire. Rhachilla internodes elongated between glumes. Rhachilla elongation 0.3-0.4 mm long. Glumes thinner than the fertile lemma and 5-nerved. Lower glume lanceolate or ovate, clasping, not gibbous, 1.7-2.7 mm long, equal length of spikelet, membranous, 3-7-nerved, midnerve smooth or scaberulous. Lower glume apex acute or acuminate, mucronate. Upper glume lanceolate to ovate, 2-2.8 mm long, equalling spikelet, membranous, 5-7-nerved, midnerve smooth or scaberulous. Upper glume apex acuminate. Basal sterile floret with palea. Lemma of lower sterile floret similar to upper glume, ovate, 2-2.8 mm long, same length than spikelet, membranous, 5-7-nerved, acuminate, muticous. Palea of lower sterile floret 0.5 mm long, half the length of the lemma. Fertile lemma elliptic, dorsally compressed, 1.4-2.8 mm long, glossy, 5-7-nerved. Lemma surface smooth. Lemma margins involute. Lemma apex acute, muticous. Palea involute, indurate.

Grain with adherent pericarp, testa very smooth and glossy.

Features not available.

Occurs in WA, NT, CYP and NEQ. A lowland species with an altitudinal range from near sea level to 174 m. Grows in Eucalypt forest, Pandanus forest, in riparian forest along streams, vine thicket, various types of woodland, in Melaleuca swamp and in grassland. Also from Indo-China, Malesia, tropical Asia and New Guinea.

Panicum delicatum Hughes, Bulletin of Miscellaneous Information 1923(9): 323(1923), Type: N. TERRITORY; near Darwin, Allen 176, 178!.