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ATHRAXON P. Beauv.
Plants hermaphroditic, caespitose (rooting at nodes), annual or perennial. Culms decumbent or trailing or mat forming; internodes
hollow or solid, glabrous, terete; nodes glabrous. Leaves cauline, not distinctly distichous; sheaths terete, margins open;
auricles absent; ligules a ciliate membrane; blades flat, cordate or ovate-lanceolate, lax, apex acuminate. Panicles of
several racemose branches, open to narrow, terminal and/or axillary, sheaths subtending the inflorescences not inflated or
spathe-like; primary branches rarely branched, digitate or subdigitate, ascending, not aromatic; branches hairy; pedicel not present.
Spikelets solitary at each inflorescence node, similar in size and shape, disarticulation below the glumes, terete, sessile
spikelet fertile, pedicellate spikelet and pedicel microscopic or represented by a small scale or bract or absent. Sessile
spikelets perfect, first glumes not keeled, gland-like depressions or pits not present; abaxial surface convex, striate,
chartaceous or coriaceous, hairy (scabrous), awnless; second glumes length equal to first glume, lower florets sterile,
hyaline; upper florets perfect, lemmas membranous or hyaline, entire or bifid, dorsally awned (rarely awnless); paleas
present or absent, membranous. Stamens 2 or 3; anthers brown. Caryopses elliptical or fusiform, slightly compressed laterally.
Base chromosome numbers x=9 or 10.
A small genus of about seven species from Africa and Asia. Some taxa shade tolerant, while others require open habitats.
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