Bromus madritensis L., Cent. Pl. I 5 (1755).

Anisantha madritensis (L.) Nevski, Trudy Sredne-Aziatsk. Gosud. Univ., Ser. 8b, Bot. 17: 21 (1934). T: Habitat in Hispania but check Matthei, O. (1986) El Genero Bromus (Poaceae) in Chile. for types.

Vegetative form. Caespitose. Leaves mostly basal. Culms 25-42 cm high, unbranched above, 2-3 noded. Mid-culm nodes glabrous. Mid-culm internodes hollow, glabrous, terete. Leaves non-auriculate. Basal leaf sheaths sligthly keeled, terete, papillose to scabrous, with margins connate, in lower 1/2, hyaline to membranous, smooth. Ligule 1.5 mm long, hyaline, smooth, obtuse, erose. Collar scabrous. Leaf blades flat, linear, 36-65 mm long, 2-2.5 mm wide; adaxially scabrous to adaxially puberulous; abaxially scabrous; minutely with margins scabrous, apices acuminose.

Reproductive organization. Plants bisexual. Incomplete spikelets absent. Inflorescence of cleistogamous spikelets (?).

Inflorescence. Inflorescence a raceme to a panicle, open. Main inflorescence axis 100-245 mm long. Peduncles 70-170 mm long, glabrous. Rachides 25-65 mm long, subterete, glabrous. Rachis angles scabrous. Primary inflorescence branches weakly spreading to divaricate, verticillate, with spikelets inserted at the base. Spikelets 1-2 per node (basal nodes only). Spikelets 2 on a typical ultimate inflorescence branch, terminal, on first order branches.

Hermaphrodite (`perfect') spikelets. Hermaphrodite spikelets pedicellate, 20-22 mm long, laterally compressed, obovate, disarticulating above the glumes. Pedicels (5-)10 mm long. Glumes two per spikelet, free, similar, subequal. Lower glume c. 3/4s the length of the upper glume, narrowly oblong, 8 mm long, 0.5 mm wide, carnose to cartilaginous, keeled, long acute, muticous, margin hyaline, margin smooth; 1 veined, midvein scabrous (more so acropetally); intercostal regions glabrous. Upper glume narrowly oblong, 11-12 mm long, 1 mm wide, chartaceous to carnose, slightly keeled to dorsally rounded, long acute, muticous, margin hyaline, margin smooth; 3 veined, veins obscure, minutely midvein scabrous; intercostal regions glabrous. Incomplete florets present, distal to the hermaphrodite florets. Hermaphrodite florets 6-7 per spikelet. Rachilla disarticulating between the florets, disarticulating directly below the florets, straight (not expanded), minutely scabrous, elongated between all florets, apically prolonged. Callus present, pointed, 1 mm long, glabrous to scabrous. Lemma similar in firmness to the glumes, narrowly oblong, 13-14 mm long, 1 mm wide, chartaceous to cartilaginous, not keeled, acuminate to acute, erose, 2 -lobed, awned. Lemma margins smooth to scabrous. Lemma 7 veined. Lemma veins confluent towards the apex, obscure, not connected by transverse veins, scabrous, with the hairs on all the veins, with the hairs extending the length of the veins; intercostal regions papillose, the hairs over the entire dorsal surface. Awns 1, median. Median awn about as long as the body of the lemmas, 14-15 mm long, 3 veined (but lateral veins obscure), dorsal, arising from the upper half of the lemma, straight, scabrous. Palea fully developed, slightly shorter than the lemmas, thinner than the lemmas, tightly clasped by the lemmas, narrowly oblong, 11-12 mm long, 0.8 mm wide, membranous, 2-keeled, keels wingless, narrowly obtuse, entire; 2 veined, acropetally veins scabrous; papillate. Lodicules 2, free, hyaline, acuminate, with entire margins, glabrous. Anthers 1 mm long, entire or shortly basally 2-lobed. Ovary with a conspicuous apical appendage, pilose, with the hairs only at the apex. Styles 2, free to their bases. Distal incomplete florets 1-2 per spikelet, male or neuter, merely underdeveloped, awned, paleate or epaleate. Distal male florets with 2 stamens.

Fruit. Fruit free from both lemma and palea, oblong, terete, 8-9 mm long, 1 mm wide, not grooved, pilose, with dense hairs, the hairs confined to a terminal tuft. Hilum 6.5 mm long, linear.

Abaxial leaf blade epidermis. Leaf anatomical data recorded.

Costal/intercostal zonation conspicuous; the intercostal zones bordering the midrib 18-45 cells wide; epidermis differentiated into long- and short-cells; long-cells different in shape costally and intercostally; long-cells of similar wall thickness costally and intercostally.

Microhairs absent.

Crown cells absent. Prickles present (as hooks); intercostal and marginal; antrorse; fairly uniform in size and form. Prickle bases paired with a short-cell, or not paired with a short-cell. Barbs of the costal prickles about as long as the bases. Intercostal prickles in the astomatal files. Bases of the intercostal prickles about as long as the width of an intercostal long-cell; shorter than the stomata; barbs of the intercostal prickles about as long as the bases to up to twice as long as the bases. Macrohairs absent.

Intercostal long-cells fairly constant in shape. Mid-intercostal long-cells markedly elongated; fusiform; inflated; long-cell walls straight; end walls vertical. Papillae absent.

The costal zones all histologically similar; costal short-cells conspicuously in long rows. Costal silica bodies present and perfectly developed; throughout the costal zones; horizontal-crenate, horizontal-smooth, and cuboid.

Intercostal short-cells infrequent; throughout the intercostal zones; solitary. Unsilicified intercostal short-cells tall-and-narrow to square; walls straight. Intercostal cork-cells square. Intercostal silica bodies absent, or imperfectly developed; when present, cuboid.

Stomata infrequent to common; present in all the intercostal zones; distributed throughout the intercostal zones; arranged in definite rows (often intermittent). Stomatal rows in the widest intercostal zones 2-6; evenly dispersed. Stomata 45-57 m long; with guard-cells overlapped by the interstomatals. Subsidiaries dome-shaped to parallel-sided. The domes low, or of medium height.

Photosynthetic pathway and related features. C3. XyMS+. The PBS sheaths of the primary lateral vascular bundles interrupted. Mestome sheath single; complete.

Transverse section of the leaf blade. Lamina mid-zone in transverse section open; more or less flat to V-shaped. Width of lamina across a primary vascular bundle 120-132-186 m. Lamina mid-zone in transverse section exhibiting adaxial ribs only. Adaxial furrows slight; wide. Adaxial furrows between all the vascular bundles. Adaxial ribs more or less constant in size, or irregular in size; round topped; opposite all vascular bundles. Vascular bundles in the mid-lamina 16-22; 1 per rib. Abaxial furrows absent.

Midrib pronounced in outline; adaxially raised and rounded; prominent abaxially; 1 keeled abaxially; tissue layout similar to that of other primary vascular bundles, or with a distinctive tissue layout. Vascular bundles in the mid-lamina region of the midrib 1. The median vascular bundle with a protoxylem cavity; with an enlarged protoxylem vessel; with sclerosed phloem. Midrib without colourless tissue adaxially (but the adaxial linking sclerenchyma always contains large, relatively thin-walled cells); without lacunae. The lamina symmetrical on either side of the midrib.

Mesophyll chlorenchyma non-radiate; tightly packed. Mesophyll without lacunae; without any obvious adaxial palisade; without `circular cells'; not traversed by columns of colourless cells; without arm cells; without fusoids. Bulliforms absent as discrete groups but the epidermis extensively bulliform, or present in discrete groups. The bulliform groups situated when present, between vascular bundles. The bulliform groups without contiguous colourless mesophyll cells; small; simple, fan-shaped. Abaxial epidermis of bulliform-like epidermal cells. Abaxial epidermal cell walls not thickened. The cells irregular in shape.

The major vascular bundles interspersed with minor bundles; outlines of primary vascular bundles more or less circular; primary vascular bundles centrally situated. Primary lateral vascular bundles with adaxial sclerenchyma; with abaxial sclerenchyma; the adaxial sclerenchyma forming girders; the abaxial sclerenchyma forming girders; the combined girders forming I's. Outlines of lower order vascular bundles more or less circular. Lower order vascular bundles centrally situated; with adaxial sclerenchyma, or without adaxial sclerenchyma; without abaxial sclerenchyma; the adaxial sclerenchyma when present, forming strands; the smallest vascular bundles lacking sclerenchyma. The adaxial sclerenchyma of the mid-lamina all associated with vascular bundles.

Distribution. Introduced.

Vouchers. Specimens examined morphologically: T.E.H.Aplin 6529: Property of J. D'Espeissis, Cape Naturaliste (W.A.); Fr.; (PERTH).

Material examined anatomically: Alpine 6529 PERTH 00322474; J.J.Berthoud s.n. PERTH 00322881; Beauglehole 29622; J.Carr s.n. PERTH 00322512; Austin & Brown 92.

Classification. Triticodae; Bromeae.

Cite this publication as:
C.M. Weiller, M.J. Henwood, J. Lenz and L. Watson (1995 onwards). `Pooideae (Poaceae) in Australia - Descriptions and Illustrations'. URL http://muse.bio.cornell.edu/delta/
Dallwitz (1980) and Dallwitz, Paine and Zurcher (1993) should also be cited.

References and Acknowledgements