| # The grass genera of the world |

L. Watson, T.D. Macfarlane, and M.J. Dallwitz

### Lepargochloa Launert

~ Loxodera (L. rhytachnoides)

Habit, vegetative morphology. Perennial; decumbent. Culms about 20–90 cm high; herbaceous; unbranched above. Culm nodes hairy. Leaves not basally aggregated; non-auriculate. Leaf blades narrowly linear; narrow; to 6 mm wide; flat, or rolled (involute); without cross venation. Ligule an unfringed membrane; 2 mm long.

Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual, all with bisexual spikelets; with hermaphrodite florets. The spikelets all alike in sexuality; homomorphic.

Inflorescence. Inflorescence a terminal, spiciform ‘raceme’; espatheate (seemingly); not comprising ‘partial inflorescences’ and foliar organs. Spikelet-bearing axes ‘racemes’ and spikelike; solitary; with substantial rachides; persistent (seemingly). ‘Articles’ non-linear (subclavate); not appendaged (but the tips bristly-hairy); transversely jointed; densely long-hairy. Spikelets paired; sessile and pedicellate; consistently in ‘long-and-short’ combinations; in pedicellate/sessile combinations. Pedicels of the ‘pedicellate’ spikelets free of the rachis. The ‘shorter’ spikelets hermaphrodite. The ‘longer’ spikelets hermaphrodite.

Female-fertile spikelets. Spikelets 7–9 mm long; compressed dorsiventrally; falling with the glumes (presumably?). Rachilla terminated by a female-fertile floret. Hairy callus present. Callus short.

Glumes two; more or less equal; long relative to the adjacent lemmas; hairy (G1 with setaceous hairs, G2 ciliate); with distinct hair tufts (the setaceous hairs of the G1 in tufts); awnless; very dissimilar (G1 leathery, rugose, convex to flattened on the back, G2 thinner and boat-shaped). Lower glume not two-keeled; convex on the back to flattened on the back; not pitted; rugose to tuberculate; 7 nerved. Upper glume 3 nerved. Spikelets with incomplete florets. The incomplete florets proximal to the female-fertile florets. Spikelets with proximal incomplete florets. The proximal incomplete florets 1; paleate; male. The proximal lemmas awnless; 2(–3) nerved; decidedly exceeding the female-fertile lemmas; similar in texture to the female-fertile lemmas (thinly membranous); not becoming indurated.

Female-fertile florets 1. Lemmas ovate-elliptic; less firm than the glumes (thinly membranous); not becoming indurated; entire; pointed, or blunt; awnless; hairless (with ciliate margins); non-carinate; without a germination flap; 3 nerved. Palea present; relatively long; entire (acute or sub-acute); awnless, without apical setae; not indurated; 2-nerved; 2-keeled. Lodicules present; 2; free; fleshy; glabrous. Stamens 3. Anthers not penicillate; without an apically prolonged connective. Ovary apically glabrous. Stigmas 2.

Classification. Watson & Dallwitz (1994): Panicoideae; Andropogonodae; Andropogoneae; Rottboelliinae. Soreng et al. (2015): Panicoideae; Andropogonodae; Andropogoneae; Rottboelliinae (?). 1 species (L. rhytachnoides).

Distribution, phytogeography, ecology. Tropical southern Africa.

References, etc. Morphological/taxonomic: Launert 1961.

Special comments. Fruit data wanting. Anatomical data wanting.

We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, distributions of character states within any set of taxa, geographical distribution, and classifications. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.

Cite this publication as: ‘Watson, L., Macfarlane, T.D., and Dallwitz, M.J. 1992 onwards. The grass genera of the world: descriptions, illustrations, identification, and information retrieval; including synonyms, morphology, anatomy, physiology, phytochemistry, cytology, classification, pathogens, world and local distribution, and references. Version: 15th June 2025. delta-intkey.com’.

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