Arundinella nepalensis Trin.

Veldkamp, J. F., 2015, Arundinella (Gramineae) in Malesia with notes on other taxa and on aluminium accumulation, Blumea 59 (3), pp. 167-179 : 173-174

5. Arundinella nepalensis Trin.

Arundinella nepalensis Trin. (1826) 62; (1830) t. 268. — Type: Wallich ex Herb. Lindley in Herb. Trin. 402.1 (holo LE, IDC microfiche BT-16/1; very likely the same as 8666-A, CGE, K, IDC microfiche 7394).

Acratherum miliaceum Link (1827) 230. — Arundinella miliacea (Link) Nees (1840: 417 , 447, in passim), (1850) 102; Druce (1917) 605, isonym. — Type: ‘Nepal’ (B†, Scholz in litt.;? K, LE, Herb. Trin. 402.2, IDC microfiche BT-16/1).

For further synonymy see Bor (1955: 404).

Plants perennial. Culms tufted, erect, 0.6–2(–3) m long. Nodes glabrous to bearded. Sheaths usually glabrous and margins hairy. Throat hairy. Ligule 0.2–1 mm high, ciliolate. Blades flaccid to rather stiff, flat to involute, linear, 8–50 cm by 3–18 mm, glabrous to pilose on both sides, margins scaberulous. Peduncle under the panicle usually glabrous, sometimes with a few hairs. Panicle densely contracted to fairly lax, interrupted at base or not, 10–60 by 5–7(–13) cm wide, lowermost branch solitary, 3.5–16 cm long, angular, smooth to scaberulous, not pilose. Pedicels smooth to scaberulous. Spikelets (3.4–) 4–6 mm long, greyish green or purple. Glumes glabrous, rarely setose; lower glume 2.6–5 mm long, 0.64–0.86 times as long as the spikelet, distinctly shorter than the lower lemma, apex acute, acuminate, or mucronate, 3-nerved; upper glume 5-nerved, apex acuminate to long-acuminate. Lower lemma neuter or male, (2.3–) 2.7–3.6 mm long, 5-nerved, apex acute; upper lemma 1.7–2.5 mm long, castaneous in fruit (whitish in flower), smooth or microscopically scaberulous (40 ×!), 0-nerved, callus hairs 0.3–0.5 mm long, 0.16–0.33 times as long as the lemma, apex acute, without lateral setae, apex of the pedicels not setose, awn distinctly exserted beyond the glumes, geniculate, 2.7–6 mm long when dry, column 0.7–3.2 mm long when dry. Anthers 3, 0.7–1.7 mm long. 2n = 20, 40, 54, 60.

Distribution — Because of all the misapplications not quite certain. Very variable: see remarks by Bor (1955: 406): Africa (widespread), Madagascar, Arabia, N Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Sikkim, India (widespread), Burma, Thailand (Chiang Mai), Vietnam, China (widespread), Australia (W Australia, N Territory, New South Wales, Queensland).

Note — Although occurring north and south of Malesia, it has so far not yet been found there. All reports have turned out to be misapplications to A. filiformis , A. furva , or A. goeringii .