Themeda arguens
Common names: Christmas grass
Synonyms: Themeda frondosa
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 25. Treatment on page 682.
Plants annual. Culms 1-3 m, erect, or geniculate and ascending. Sheaths glabrous, not flattened at the base. False panicles 20-100 cm; sheaths subtending the rame clusters 35-40 mm, pilose, hairs papillose-based; rames 3-5 per cluster, with 2-3 heterogamous spikelets. Homogamous spikelets 8-10 mm; lower glumes glabrous, acuminate. Heterogamous sessile spikelets 9-11 mm; calluses 3-4 mm; lower glumes hispid and tuberculate-scabrous, dark brown; awns 7-9 cm; pedicellate spikelets 8-10 mm. 2n = 20.
Distribution
Puerto Rico, Md., Va.
Discussion
Themeda arguens is native to northern Australia and southeastern Asia. Reed (1964) reported finding it on ore piles in Maryland and Virginia.
Selected References
None.
Lower Taxa
None.