Mnesithea glandulosa (Trin.) de Koning & Sosef

Veldkamp, J. F., Heidweiller, J., Klaauw, M. A. F. van der, Koning, R. de, Kraaijeveld, A. R., Sosef, M. S. M. & Strucker, R. C. W., 2013, A revision of Mnesithea (Gramineae - Rottboelliinae) in Malesia and Thailand, Blumea 58 (3), pp. 277-292 : 281-282

4. Mnesithea glandulosa (Trin.) de Koning & Sosef — Fig. 4

Mnesithea glandulosa (Trin.) de Koning & Sosef in Veldkamp et al. (1986) 290. — Rottboellia glandulosa Trin. (1832) 250. — Manisuris glandulosa (Trin.) Kuntze (1891) 780. — Coelorachis glandulosa (Trin.) Stapf ex Ridl. (1925) 204. — Type: Anon.in Herb.Trinius 113.1 ‘Java’ (holo LE,microfiche IDC BT-16/1;? L, fragm. ex Herb. Hackel, W).

[ Rottboellia muricata Retz. [var.α] Buse (preprint Feb.1854) 15; (Aug.1854) 355]. — Rottboellia muricata Retz. var. javanica Buse ex Miq. (1857) 407. — Lectotype: Junghuhn s.n. (holo L, sh. 903.342-444), here designated.

Rottboellia muricata Retz.var. bandanensis Buse (1856) 102.— Coelorachis glandulosa Ridl. var. bandanensis (Buse) Henrard (1941) 517. — Type: Reinwardt 171 (holo L) (see note).

[ Rottboellia mutica Llanos (1858) 497,nomen;Fern.-Vill.(1880) 99, 108; corrected to R. muricata by Fern.-Vill. (1882) 314 (differently paged paper in same work) (see note)].

[ Coelorachis muricata auct.non Brongn.:Brongn.(1831) 64,pro t. 14,descr.]. — [ Rottboellia cylindrica (Michx.) Torr. var. muricata auct. non Roberty: Roberty (1960) 75, nom. inval.]. — Voucher: Ventenat s.n. (P). [Roberty’s combination belongs to Eremochloa muricata (Retz.) Hack. ].

Rottboellia muricata auct. non Retz.: Moritzi (1846) 99. — Ophiuros muricatulus Steud. (( June 1854) 57, nomen) (July 1854) 360. — [ Rottboellia rottboellioides (R.Br.) Druce var. muricata Roberty (1960) 75,comb.inval.]. — Type: Zollinger 352 (holo P; BM, K).

Plants perennial. Culms 0.6–1.9 m long, glabrous to pilose with scattered bulbous-based bristles. Cataphylls ovate-oblong, (2–)10–27(–48) by (1–)4.5–6(–10) mm, margin puberulous to ciliate, apex acute to acuminate or mucronate, rarely retuse. Nodes glabrous to setose. Sheaths glabrous to hairy, margin glabrous to ciliate. Ligule 0.6–5 mm long, glabrous or margin ciliolate to setose. Contra-ligule absent. Blades flat to folded, (4.5–)11–60(–110) cm by 4–24 mm, margins glabrous to pectinate at base, hairy on one or both sides, glabrescent to glabrous, glabrous to setose behind the ligule, smooth. Peduncles solitary or paired, glabrous. Spatheoles (2–)6.5–12.5(–18) cm long. Spikes (2–)5–9(–12) cm by 1.5–3.5 mm. Spikelets paired. Joints 2.7–5.5 mm long, glabrous to ciliolate at base, smooth. Sessile spikelets 3.8–5.5 mm long (incl. callus), shorter to longer than the joint. Callus ciliolate to hairy. Lower glume flat to convex, ovate-oblong, glabrous to hairy, coriaceous, smooth, yellowish or greenish yellow, sometimes with purplish margins, 6–9-nerved, apex winged, lower part of keels with small appendages; upper glume boat-shaped, ovate-oblong, 2.8–4.9 mm long, 3–7-nerved, nerves anastomosing or not, infolded margin glabrous or ciliolate, apex acute. Lemmas ovate to ovate-oblong, 2.5–3.9 mm long, glabrous to margin ciliolate, apex rounded to acute. First lemma epaleate or paleate, 2.5–3.7 mm long, 2–4-nerved; second lemma 3-nerved. Paleas 2-nerved, glabrous to margin ciliolate; first palea (when present) ovate-lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 1.8–2.8 mm long; second palea ovate-oblong to ovate-lanceolate, 2.1–3.1 mm long. Anthers 1.2–2.1 mm long. Pedicel free from the joint, 3.3–5.5 mm long, glabrous to pubescent, smooth. Pedicelled spikelets reduced to 1 glume to well-developed with bisexual upper floret and dorso-ventrally flattened, (0.6–)0.8–1.9(–4.5) mm long. Lower glume chartaceous, glabrous to margins ciliolate, apex winged. Anthers 0.9–1.8 mm long. 2n = 54.

Distribution — Nicobars (Car), Burma (Prome), Thailand (N: Chiang Mai; C: Saraburi, Nakhon Nayok; SW: Kanchanaburi; SE: Prachin Buri; Peninsular: Nakhon si Thammarat, Songkhla), Cambodia (Kratie), S Vietnam (common, fide Schmid 1958: 194), Malesia: Malay Peninsula (widespread, but rare), Singapore, Sumatra (widespread), Mentawei Isl., P. Enggano, Bangka, Java (all over), Anambas Isl., Borneo (widespread), Celebes (widespread), Talaud, Philippines (see note; Antique, Balabac, Bohol, Busuanga, Cagayan de Sulu, Camiguin, Cu- lion, Guimaras, Jolo, Luzon (Benguet: once Elmer 5823), Mindanao, Mindoro, Palawan, Panay, Siargao, Tawitawi), Lesser Sunda Isles ( Flores, Sumbawa), Moluccas ( Ambon, Bacan, Banda, Ceram, Halmaheira, Nusa Laut), New Guinea: Aru, Waigeo. The record for Australia (e.g. Merrill 1921) probably is based on a Von Mueller collection cited as R. muricata by Bentham (1878), type of R. ophiuroides Benth. var. commutata Hack. , a synonym of R. rottboellioides , q.v.

Habitat — Sunny, grassy places, fired grasslands, savannahs, disturbed forests, teak forests, along roads, railroads, rivers (? rheophyte), up to 1525 m altitude; locally common.

Ecology — Beumée (1927) reported the presence of myrmecochory.

Uses — Yields a considerable amount of leaf, but the old ones and the culms are very hard. According to analyses the nutritional value is also low.

Notes — Rottboellia mutica was mentioned in a list of names with various literature references, e.g. to Sprengel ’ s Systema vegetabilium, but this one without any, suggesting that it was a new species. It is stated to grow in sugarcane fields. Fernandez-Villar (1882: 314) ‘corrected’ it to Rottboellia muricata , a name often misapplied to Mnesithea glandulosa . The ‘true’ R. muricata ( Eremochloa muricata (Retz.) Hack. ) does not occur in the Philippines, while M. glandulosa has not been reported for sugarcane fields (f. Backer 1928). The identity of R. mutica can therefore not be established.

Buse (1854) distinguished a form from Java with the pedicelled spikelets reduced to two glumes which was formally named var. javanica Buse by Miquel (1857), who cited besides the Junghuhn specimen referred to by Buse also Zollinger (352), the type.

The var. bandanensis would be distinct by the presence of a stronger indument on the lower glume of the sessile spikelets . Similar hairy glumes were observed in Jacobs 5645 ( Brunei) (but also some nearly glabrous), Alston 13411 (W Kalimantan), SAN 33502 (Meijer) (Sabah), Buwalda 6032 (Ceram) and Van Royen 5558 (New Guinea, Vogelkop). In view of the fact that within the material there seems to be a more or less continuous cline from subglabrous to pubescent glumes, being sometimes variable within a single inflorescence (see Jacobs 5645 mentioned above) and that such specimens occur within at least a considerable part of the range, it must be concluded that this variety should not be maintained.

Bulbous-based hairs occasionally occur, e.g. on the culms (Backer 6858, Java; Bünnemeijer 6469, Sumatra; Endert 2101, Borneo; Hallier f. 649c, Java; Kostermans 21728, Borneo; LÖrzing 13008, Sumatra), or on the upper side of the blades (Backer 5828, 17108, 18838, Java).

Backer 6858, Dorgelo 109, Koorders 42425 and De Wit 4282 (Java) have blades pubescent on both sides .

Van Steenis 7530 (Java) has a single joint with two sessile and one pedicelled spikelet. Danser 6981 (Java), Kato B-4431 (Borneo), Kostermans 1141 ( Thailand) and Lütjeharms 5394 (Sumatra) have several joints with two sessile and two pedicelled spikelets. De Wit 4217 (Java) has some joints alternat- ingly without any or with five (three sessile and two pedicelled) spikelets.

Dorgelo 109, PNH 38767 (Kondo & Edaño) and Reinwardt 171 have sessile spikelets without or with a minute first palea.

In the Philippines the species is restricted to the southern and central Philippines and has not been found in the north-east, except for a single collection from Benguet, Luzon.

The species is easily recognized by the small appendages along the edges of the lower glume of the sessile spikelet. These are also sometimes found in M. helferi , which otherwise differs only slightly. See the key.

Differs from the Malesian / Thai congeners by: Sessile spikelet 3.8–5.5 mm long (incl. ciliolate callus). Lower glume spikelet smooth, laterally with small appendages.

Most similar is M. helferi (see key).

Figures

Fig. 4 Mnesithea glandulosa (Trin.) de Koning & Sosef. a. Pedicelled spikelet; b. sessile spikelet (all: Winckel 1392, L).