Cladoraphis

Plants perennial; synoecious; rhizomatous, occasionally also stoloniferous. Culms 2-80 cm, hard, persistent, branched above the base. Ligules membranous, ciliate, cilia as long as or longer than the basal membrane; blades linear-lanceolate, becoming rolled, hard, and sharp-pointed. Inflorescences terminal, exceeding the upper leaves, panicles of racemosely arranged spikelike primary branches; primary branches woody, not disarticulating, apices hard, sharp; secondary branches shorter than 1 cm, otherwise similar to the primary branches, sometimes clustered. Spikelets 7-16 mm, laterally compressed, with 3-16(20) florets; florets bisexual; disarticulation above the glumes and beneath the florets. Glumes more or less equal, markedly exceeded by the florets; lemmas 3-veined, unawned; lodicules 2; anthers 3. Caryopses glabrous, x = unknown.

Distribution

Oreg.

Discussion

Cladoraphis is a southern African genus of two species, both of which grow in open, xeric, sandy habitats.

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Cladoraphis cyperoides