Tripsacum
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Authority
Mori, S. A., et al. 1997. Guide to the vascular plants of central French Guiana: Part 1. Pteridophytes, gymnosperms, and monocotyledons. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 76: 1-422.
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Family
Poaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Genus Description - Robust, caespitose, perennials from short, stout rhizomes. Leaves coarse. Inflorescences in both terminal and axillary clusters, exserted or not, each cluster of 1-many-fascicled, erect to curving spike-like racemes; racemes with basal portion bearing pistillate spikelets and longer apical portion staminate spikelets. Pistillate (basal) portion of rachis with cylindrical, stramineous, indurate, corky, greatly thickened internodes, at maturity readily disarticulating, each joint deeply excavated into a cupule with margins overlapping hard lower glume of a solitary, permanently enclosed, sessile spikelet (the pedicellate spikelet suppressed); spikelets partially sunken in rachis internode, the lower glume ovate-triangular, indurate, concealing membranous to hyaline upper glume and florets, the lower floret sterile, the upper floret pistillate. Staminate (apical) portion of racemes with slender, triquetrous internodes, more or less disarticulating, the spikelets paired and similar, one member of pair sessile or subsessile, the other often pedicellate; lower glume as long as or occasionally distinctly shorter than spikelet, firm, narrowly elliptical to lanceolate, obtuse to asymmetrically acute, flat, the margins inflexed over margins of upper glume and enclosed florets; upper glume as long as spikelet, delicately membranous, many-veined; florets in pairs, similar, both staminate, hyaline, the lemmas several-veined, the paleas well-developed.