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BRACHYPODIUM P. Beauv.
Plants hermaphroditic, caespitose or rhizomatous, annual or perennial. Culms ascending or geniculate, glabrous or pubescent;
internodes hollow, terete. Leaves basal and cauline, not distinctly distichous; sheaths terete, margins open; auricles absent;
ligules membranous; blades flat, linear (short), lax. Spikes or raremes, bilateral, rachis persistent. Spikelets
solitary, ascending, laterally compressed, disarticulating above the glumes, awned, sessile or pedicellate;
florets 9-20, reduced floret at apex; rachilla not extending beyond upper floret; glumes 2, opposite, unequal,
shorter than first floret, awned or awnless; lemmas 7-veined, chartaceous, glabrous, apex entire
(acuminate), awned, awn apical and straight; paleas 2-veined, awnless, culiate. Stamens 3; anthers yellow.
Caryopses adnate to lemma, dorsiventrally compressed, elongated oval. Base chromosome number x=7.
A genus of about 16 species that occur in temperate climates and tropical mountains. Many of these taxa
are adapted to disturbed habitats. Our species (B. distachyon) is a weedy species.
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