Microstegium fauriei (Hayata) Honda

Chen, H., Veldkamp, J. - F. & Kuoh, C. - S., 2012, Taxonomic revision of Microstegium s. str. Andropogoneae, Poaceae), Blumea 57 (2), pp. 160-189 : 172-173

8. Microstegium fauriei (Hayata) Honda a. var. fauriei — Map 7

Pollinia fauriei Hayata (1917) 99, nomen;7 (1918) 73, t. 41. — Microstegium fauriei (Hayata) Honda (1930) 410. — Microstegium fauriei (Hayata) Honda subsp. fauriei (Hayata) T. Koyama (1987) 428, 516. — Type: Faurie 215 (holo TI).

Annuals, mat-forming. Culms rambling, slender, 50 –100 cm long, rooting from the lower nodes. Nodes pubescent. Sheaths glabrous, outer margin glabrous, oral hairs absent or ciliate. Ligule a glabrous membrane, 2–3 mm long. Blades lanceolate, 5–20 cm by 3–10 mm, firm, base attenuate to slightly rounded, pseudopetiole absent, margins scaberulous, apex acute to acuminate, glabrous. Panicles 5–13 cm long, common axis 1–2 cm long. Racemes 4–10, digitate, ascending or patent, flexuous, 5–12 cm long. Rachis fragile, flattened, margins glabrous, internodes linear, 5–8 mm long. Sessile spikelets lanceolate, 4.5–5 mm long, callus pilose. Lower glume lanceolate, coriaceous, midrib glabrous, dorsally concave, smooth, glabrous, margins setose, apex acute, entire or dentate. Upper glume elliptic, back acute, glabrous, midrib setose, apex entire, acute, mucro 0.3–1.5 mm long. Lower florets, reduced, male or barren, epaleate. Upper lemma oblong, 0.8–1.5 mm long, veined, glabrous, apex incised to 0.25th of the lemma length, awn from a sinus, flexuous, column absent, 16–37 mm long. Upper palea ovate, c. 2 mm long, 0.66–1 times as long as the lemma, membranous, apex entire.Anthers 3, 1.5–1.8 mm long. Pedicels linear, flattened, 2–4 mm long, margins glabrous. Pedicelled spikelets subequal to the sessile ones.

Distribution — Taiwan.

Habitat — Montane forests, humid places, trail sides, at medium altitude.

Notes — Microstegium geniculatum can be distinguished from M. fauriei mainly by the tomentose leaf blades. In a previ- ous study ( Chen et al. 2009), the clade formed by these two taxa had a strong bootstrap support (99 % in both NJ tree and MP tree), but the internal sistergroup relationship did not (69 % in NJ tree and 62 % in MP tree). It seems therefore more appropriate to treat them as varieties.

This species has been illustrated by Hsu (1975) and Liu (1997).

Figures

Map 7 Distribution of Microstegium fauriei (Hayata) Honda var. fauriei (●) and M. fauriei (Hayata) Honda var. geniculatum (Hayata) C.Hui Chen, Kuoh & Veldk. (★).