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ENTEROPOGON Nees.
Plants hermaphroditic, caespitose or rhizomatous, perennial. Rhizomatous bearing cleistogamous spikelets subterranean in
E. chlorideus. Culms erect to ascending, glabrous; internodes solid or hollow, terete. Leaves basal or basal and cauline,
not distinctly distichous; sheaths terete, margins open; auricles absent; ligules a ciliate membrane; blades flat or involute,
linear, lax, apex acuminate. Panicles (rarely a spike) with 2 to several spicate primary unilateral branches;
branches paired or digitate or subdigitae or verticillate, ascending, terminating in a spikelet, spikelets
in two rows. Spikelets solitary, dorsiventrally compressed, disarticulation above the glumes, awned, sessile or
subsessile; florets 2-6, lowermost 1-2 perfect, reduced floret at apex (uppermost 1-4 sterile), callus hairy, rachilla not
extended beyond upper floret, awned; glumes 2, 1-veined, unequal, the second longer than first floret, glabrous, awned
(second glume); lemmas 3-veined, coriaceous or indurate, glabrous, apex entire or bifid, awn (1) from apex or
between the bifid lobes; paleas 2-veined, glabrous, awnless. Stamens 3; anthers cream. Caryopses dorsiventrally compressed,
elliptical to linear, brown, (caryopses of cleistogamous spikelet ovate). Base chromosome number x=10.
A genus of about six species that is often confused with Chloris. These shade species or open habitat
species are adapted to medium to dry areas.
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