Bothriochloa bladhii

Bothriochloa bladhii (Retz.) S. T. Blake. Proc.
Roy. Soc. Queensland
 80: 62 (1969).

Classification. (GPWG 2001) : Subfamily Panicoideae. Micraireae.

Basionym and/or
Replacement Name:
 Andropogon
bladhii
Retz., Observ. Bot. 2: 27 (1781).

Type of Basionym or
Protologue Information
: China: ?:, Bladh s.n. (HT: LD; IT: SI
(photo)).

Recent synonyms:
B. intermedia.

Key references
(books and floras):
[1810]. R.Brown, Prodromus (202 as Andropogon
intermedius
), [1878] G.Bentham, Flora Australiensis 7 (531 as Andropogon
intermedius
), [1969] E.E.Henty, Manual Grasses New Guinea (36
as B. intermedia), [1980] M.Lazarides, Tropical Grasses S.E.Asia
(24), [1981] M.Lazarides in J.Jessop (ed)., Flora of Central Australia
(487), [2002] D.Sharp & B.K.Simon, AusGrass, Grasses of Australia,
[2008] S.W.L.Jacobs, R.D.B.Walley & D.J.B.Wheeler, Grasses of New South
Wales
(168).

Illustrations:
[1983] J.C.Tothill & J.B.Hacker, Grasses of Southern Queensland (126
& 128(4)).

Habit.
Perennial. Rhizomes present, short. Culms erect or geniculately ascending,
50–150 cm tall. Lateral branches simple or sparsely branched. Ligule an
eciliate membrane. Leaf-blades 10–55 cm long, 2–12 mm wide.

Inflorescence.
Inflorescence compound, a panicle of racemes, with ramose branches. Panicle
3–14 cm long. Racemes numerous, 1.8–5 cm long. Central inflorescence axis 4-14
cm long. Rhachis fragile at the nodes.

Spikelets.
Spikelets sessile, 1 in the cluster. Companion spikelets pedicelled, 1 in the
cluster. Companion spikelets developed, comprising 2 subequal glumes without
lemmas or containing empty lemmas or male, 2.5–4 mm long. 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, elliptic or oblong, dorsally compressed, 3–4 mm long.

Glumes. Glumes
dissimilar, firmer than fertile lemma. Lower glume elliptic, chartaceous,
without keels, 5–7 -nerved. Lower glume surface indumented. Upper glume
lanceolate or oblong, keeled, 1-keeled, 3–4 -nerved. Florets. Basal
sterile florets 1, barren, without significant palea. Lemma of lower sterile
floret hyaline, 0 -nerved.

Fertile lemma without
keel, 1 -nerved. Lemma apex entire, awned, 1 -awned. Median (principal) awn
10–25 mm long overall, with a twisted column. Palea absent. Grain 2 mm long.

Continental
Distribution
: Africa, Temperate Asia, Tropical Asia, Australasia, Pacific,
and South America.

Australian
Distribution
: Western Australia, Northern Territory, South Australia,
Queensland, New South Wales, Christmas Is.

Western Australia:
Gardner, Fitzgerald, Hall, Dampier. Canning, Fortescue. Northern Territory:
Darwin & Gulf, Victoria River, Barkly Tableland, Central Australia North,
Central Australia South. South Australia: Gairdner-Torrens Basin,
Flinders Ranges. Queensland: Burke, Burnett, Cook, Darling Downs,
Leichhardt, Maranoa, Mitchell, Moreton, North Kennedy, Port Curtis, South
Kennedy, Warrego, Wide Bay. New South Wales: North Coast, Northern
Tablelands, North-Western Slopes, Central-Western Slopes, North-Western Plains.

  There are two subspecies.

 Sessile spikelets not or very rarely pitted,
3.5–4 mm long   subsp. bladhii

 Sessile spikelets always pitted, 3–3.5 mm long
                 subsp. glabra



AVH 2011


 

Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith