Mesosetum cayennense Steud.

  • Authority

    Swallen, Jason R. 1937. The Grass Genus Mesosetum. Brittonia. 4: 363-392.

  • Family

    Poaceae

  • Scientific Name

    Mesosetum cayennense Steud.

  • Description

    Species Description - Perennial; culms in small tufts, erect, 30-120 cm. tall, simple or sparingly branched from the lower nodes, glabrous; sheaths pilose to subglabrous, the margins densely short-ciliate, usually overlapping or sometimes shorter than the internodes; ligule a dense line of very short hairs; blades firm, flat, 5-20 cm. long, 3-5 mm. wide, papillose- pilose on both surfaces or the lower sometimes nearly glabrous; raceme 5-19 cm. long, the longer ones gracefully arched or drooping, pale or rufous; spikelets 4-5 mm. long, not including the hairs, which extend beyond the spikelet; first glume 3 mm. long, truncate, usually irregularly toothed, the margins appressed-hispid on the lower half, the hairs sometimes scant, with a small tuft of long coarse hairs about the middle; second glume 4-5 mm. long, obscurely 3-nerved, the tip erose or dentate, appressed-hispid across the lower half, bearing a rather conspicuous tuft of hairs on each margin at the middle, and two tufts on the back about one-third from the tip, the middle portion of the glume glabrous; sterile lemma a little shorter than the second glume, the back hyaline, the margins thickened, bearing a few appressed hairs on the back at the base and a tuft on each margin at the middle, the apex subacute; fruit 3 mm. long, acute

  • Discussion

    TYPE LOCALITY: Cayenne, French Guiana. Type collected by Leprieur.

  • Distribution

    Open sandy campos, Bolivia, French Guiana, and northern Brazil. BOLIVIA: Ixiamos, White 2318. FRENCH GUIANA: Cayenne, Le- prieur (type). BRAZIL: Para: Alta Cumina, Samppaio 5675, 5735, .5884; Monte Alegre, Swallen 3341. Amazonas: Rio Branco (Caracarahy), Kuhlmnann 1079; Manaos ("Barra"), Spruce; Madeira River, Langsdorff. Matto Grosso: Cuyaba, Malme 1492b. Maranhao: Between Carolina and San Antonio de Balsas, Swallen 4080; between Grajahu and Porto Franco, Swallen 3818.

    Bolivia South America| French Guiana South America| Brazil South America|