Melinis repens |
Melinis nerviglumis |
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Natal grass, Natal red top, rose Natal grass |
pink crystal |
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Habit | Plants annuals or short-lived perennials. | Plants perennial; cespitose. |
Culms | (20)40-150 cm, decumbent, usually rooting at the lower nodes; nodes pubescent; internodes glabrous or with papillose-based hairs, hairs to 4.7 mm. |
(25)40-120(150) cm. |
Sheaths | glabrous or with papillose-based hairs, hairs 0.5-4.7 mm; ligules of hairs, 0.7-2.2 mm; blades 3.6-27 cm long, 2-9(14) mm wide, flat, glabrous or pubescent, with or without papillose-based hairs. |
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Leaf | sheaths not strongly overlapping; blades (3)1-30(44) cm long, (1.3)2-3.5(4.5) mm wide, rolled. |
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Panicles | (4)6-22 cm long, (1.5)2.5-12 cm wide; primary branches to 11 cm, ends of the primary branches, secondary branches, and pedicels capillary; pedicels 0.6-5.3 mm, usually hairy distally, hairs to 6.3 mm. |
contracted. |
Spikelets | 2-5.7 mm; calluses hairy, hairs to 4 mm. |
3.2-5.7 mm long, 2 mm wide, often densely covered with hairs, hairs to 4 mm, white or pink to purple. |
Glumes | separated by 0.3(0.6) mm; lower glumes about 0.5 mm, awns 1-2(3) mm. |
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Caryopses | 1.3-1.9 mm long, 0.6-0.9 mm wide. |
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Pedicels | scabrous, with hairs to 7 mm. |
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Lower | glumes 0-1.7 mm, pubescent, sometimes with papillose-based hairs, apices rounded, truncate, or slightly cleft; upper glumes (1.9)2.3-4.9 mm, enclosing the upper florets, gibbous basally, densely pubescent, hairs to 7 mm, sometimes papillose-based, varying from white to rose or darkish purple, apices tapering, beaked, glabrous, unawned or awned, awns to 4.1 mm; lower florets staminate or sterile; lower lemmas 1.9-4.8 mm, unawned or with awns to 4.2 mm; lower paleas 0.9-4 mm; anthers (0.8)1.5-2.6 mm, orange-brown to orange; upper lemmas 1.8-2.7 mm, glabrous; anthers 3, 1.2-1.7 mm, orange-brown to orange. |
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2n | = 36. |
= 36. |
Melinis repens |
Melinis nerviglumis |
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Distribution |
AZ; CA; FL; GA; LA; MD; NC; NM; TX; HI; PR; Virgin Islands
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Discussion | Melinis repens is probably native to Africa and western Asia. It is now established throughout the subtropics, including the southern portion of the Flora region. It has been grown as an ornamental, but it is now established and often weedy in warmer portions of the region. Plants in the Flora region belong to Melinis repens (Willd.) Zizka subsp. repens. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
In its native southern Africa, Melinis nerviglumis flowers from November to September [sic] (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 25, p. 490. | FNA vol. 25, p. added post-publication. |
Parent taxa | Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Melinis | Poaceae > subfam. Panicoideae > tribe Paniceae > Melinis |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Rhynchelytrum roseum, Rhynchelytrum repens | |
Name authority | (Willd.) Zizka | (Franch.) Zizka |
Web links |