Anthephora

Anthephora is a genus of herbaceous plants in the Poaceae family. It is native to tropical Africa and southern Arabia, tropical America. On mesophytic to xerophytic soils, in open habitats. In dry places, in the sand of the savannah. It includes 35 described species and of these, only 11 accepted.

Description

They are annual plants; with stems 15–50 cm tall, erect to decumbent and rooting at the nodes, branching from the lower nodes; hermaphrodite plants. Leaves generally stem-like, papilloso-hairy to almost glabrous; ligule 1.5–3 mm long, membranaceous, brown; blades linear, 4–20 cm long and 2–8 mm wide, flattened. Inflorescence terminal, cylindrical, spiciform with fascicles of spikelets, spike 4–12 cm long and 5–8 mm broad, fascicles 40–60, 5–7 mm long, disarticulated as a unit, the stipe 0.3–0.7 mm wide. long; involucre bracts acuminate, slightly recurved; fertile spikelets 3.5–4.5 mm long, lanceoid, acute, with 2 florets, lower glume absent, upper glume subulate, 1.7–4.2 mm long, including an awn 0.5–1.4 mm long, 5-veined, dorsum to the rachis, lower lemma as long as spikelet, 7-veined, scabriulous between veins, upper floret bisexual, upper lemma as long as spikelet, faintly 3-veined, glabrous, anthers 1.1–1.4 mm long. Caryopsis 2 mm long.

Taxonomy

The genus was described by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber and published in Beschreibung der Graser 2: 105. 1810. The type species is: Anthephora elegans Schreb.

Etymology

The generic name comes from the Greek anthe (flower) and pherein (to bear).

Cytology

The basic chromosome number of the genus is x = 9, with somatic chromosome numbers of 2n = 18, 36 and 40, since there are diploid species and a polyploid series.

Accepted species

The following is a list of the species of the genus Anthephora accepted up to April 2014, arranged alphabetically. For each one, the binomial name followed by the author is indicated, abbreviated according to conventions and uses.

• Anthephora ampullacea Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
• Anthephora argentea Gooss.
• Anthephora cristata (Döll) Hack. ex De Wild. & T.Durand
• Anthephora elongata Wild.
• Anthephora hermaphrodita (L.) Kuntze
• Anthephora laevis (Schweinf.) Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
• Anthephora nigritana Stapf & C.E.Hubb.
• Anthephora pubescens Nees
• Anthephora pungens Clayton
• Anthephora schinzii Hack.
• Anthephora truncata Robyns