| # The grass genera of the world |

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

### Lophopogon Hackel

Habit, vegetative morphology. Low, delicate annual, or perennial; caespitose. Culms herbaceous; branched above, or unbranched above.

Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual, all with bisexual spikelets; with hermaphrodite florets. The spikelets of sexually distinct forms on the same plant; hermaphrodite and male-only; overtly heteromorphic (the pedicellate spikelets awned, the sessile members of the lower pairs awnless); in both homogamous and heterogamous combinations (the upper pairs homogamous, the lower pairs with the sessile spikelets male).

Inflorescence. Inflorescence of spicate main branches; contracted; digitate. Primary inflorescence branches 2 (the two short ‘racemes’ closely appressed to form an ovate head). Inflorescence espatheate; not comprising ‘partial inflorescences’ and foliar organs. Spikelet-bearing axes ‘racemes’; paired; with very slender rachides; disarticulating; disarticulating at the joints. ‘Articles’ disarticulating obliquely; densely long-hairy (the hairs reddish). Spikelets paired; sessile and pedicellate (the pedicel tips oblique); consistently in ‘long-and-short’ combinations; in pedicellate/sessile combinations. Pedicels of the ‘pedicellate’ spikelets free of the rachis. The ‘shorter’ spikelets male-only (in the lower part of the inflorescence), or hermaphrodite (above). The ‘longer’ spikelets hermaphrodite.

Female-sterile spikelets. The lower sessile spikelets male-only, dorsally compressed, awnless. The male spikelets with glumes; 2 floreted. The lemmas awnless.

Female-fertile spikelets. Spikelets compressed laterally; falling with the glumes. Rachilla terminated by a female-fertile floret. Callus pointed.

Glumes two; very unequal; with distinct hair tufts (G1 truncate, with transversely placed tufts, at least in upper spikelets); awned (G2 only, the awn short); very dissimilar (G1 hair-tufted, truncate, 3-toothed and awnless, the G2 short-awned). Lower glume not two-keeled; convex on the back; not pitted; distinctly nerved. Spikelets with incomplete florets. The incomplete florets proximal to the female-fertile florets. The proximal incomplete florets 1.

Female-fertile florets 1. Lemmas linear; less firm than the glumes; incised; 2 lobed; deeply cleft; awned. Awns 1; median; from a sinus; geniculate. Lemmas non-carinate; without a germination flap. Lodicules absent. Stamens 2.

Classification. Watson & Dallwitz (1994): Panicoideae; Andropogonodae; Andropogoneae; Andropogoninae. Soreng et al. (2015): Panicoideae; Andropogonodae; Andropogoneae; Saccharinae. 2 species.

Distribution, phytogeography, ecology. India.

Species of open habitats.

Special comments. Fruit data wanting. Anatomical data wanting.

Illustrations. • Lophopogon tridentatus: Rangachariyar K., Hndbk. S. Indian Grasses (1921).

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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