Germainia capitata Balansa &
Poitrass. Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Toulouse 7: 344 (1873).
Classification. (GPWG 2001) : Subfamily Panicoideae. Andropogoneae.
Type of Basionym or
Protologue Information: Vietnam,
Saigon: Germain .
Key references
(books and floras): [1969] E.E.Henty, Manual Grasses New Guinea
(105), [2002] D.Sharp & B.K.Simon, AusGrass, Grasses of Australia.
Habit.
Perennial. Culms erect, 30–90 cm tall, 3–5 -noded. Lateral branches simple.
Ligule a fringed membrane, a ciliolate membrane, 1–1.5 mm long. Leaf-blades
flat or involute, 7–38 cm long, 3–9 mm wide. Leaf-blade surface glabrous or
indumented.
Inflorescence.
Inflorescence solid, a rame. Rhachis obsolete (rame capitate).
Spikelets.
Spikelets pedicelled, 1 in the cluster. Companion spikelets sessile, 1 in the
cluster. Basal sterile spikelets well-developed, 1–4 in number. Companion
spikelets developed, male, 16–23 mm long. Companion spikelet glumes muticous.
Fertile spikelets 2-flowered, the lower floret barren (rarely male), the upper
fertile, comprising 1 basal sterile florets, comprising 1 fertile floret(s),
without rachilla extension, linear or lanceolate, terete, 8–14 mm long.
Glumes.
Glumes similar, firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume lanceolate, chartaceous,
without keels, 3 -nerved. Lower glume surface glabrous. Upper glume lanceolate,
7–9 mm long, chartaceous, without keels, 3 -nerved. Florets. Basal
sterile florets 1, barren, without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile
floret hyaline.
Fertile lemma without
keel, 1 -nerved. Lemma apex entire, awned, 1 -awned. Median (principal) awn
60–90 mm long overall, with a twisted column. Column 40–60 mm long. Palea
absent. Lodicules absent or vestigial. Anthers 2.
Continental
Distribution: Temperate Asia, Tropical Asia, and Australasia.
Australian
Distribution: Queensland.
Queensland: Cook, Port Curtis.
Notes. Grows in
open Eucalyptus and Melaleuca woodland, only in a limited area NW
of Bundaberg, Gladstone and Badu and Moa Is.. Extends to New Guinea and in Malaya,
Thailand, Vietnam and south China. Flowers Jan.--Mar.
