Acroceras munroanum (Balansa) Henrard, Blumea

Acroceras munroanum (Balansa) Henrard, Blumea View in CoL 3:445, in obs.,448.1940. Panicum munroanum Balansa, J. Bot. View in CoL (Morot) 4: 140. 1890. Figs. 1, 5 View Fig a-c

Annual or perennial herbs. Culms up to 80 cm, decumbent, usually branched, glabrous, rooting from lower nodes. Leaf blades lanceolate, 20–87 × 3–8 mm, base rounded or sub-cordate, margins entire, apex finely acuminate, minutely hispid, both surfaces glabrous, sometimes with few long hairs at extreme base, usually with faint transverse veinlets; sheaths’ margins ciliate on one side, glabrous; ligule less than 0.5 mm, membranous, shortly ciliate. Inflorescence a panicle, 3.8–7 cm; branches sub-erect, borne singly, the lowest up to 4.5 cm, minutely hispid, branches hairy at the junction with the rachis. Spikelets usually borne in unequally pedicelled pairs, similar, oblongellipsoid, symmetrical, 4–4.5 mm, pale green; florets 2. Longer pedicels up to 4 (–7) mm; shorter pedicels up to 2 mm. Lower glume ovate, c. 3.5 mm, not keeled, 5–7-nerved, margins hyaline, apex apiculate, herbaceous, glabrous or minutely hispid on nerves. Upper glume oblong-lanceolate, c. 4 mm, not keeled, 7-nerved, margins hyaline, apex apiculate, herbaceous, glabrous. Lower floret sterile; lemma oblong-lanceolate, 3.5–4 mm, not keeled, 5–7-nerved, margins hyaline, apex apiculate, herbaceous, glabrous; palea poorly developed, oblong-lanceolate, c. 2 mm, hyaline. Upper floret bisexual; lemma ovate-lanceolate, 3–3.5 mm, not keeled, apex apiculate, sub-coriaceous, shiny, glabrous, creamy; palea elliptic, subequalling lemma, not keeled, apex notched, reflexed, sub-coriaceous, shiny, glabrous, creamy.

Flowering & fruiting: Flowering and fruiting from August to November.

Habitat: Moist habitats along the forest edges.

Distribution: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam ( Chen et al., 2006a; POWO, 2023) and now in Nepal.

Specimens examined: NEPAL, Koshi province, Jhapa district, Haldibari rural municipality, Chauki Biran community forest, N 26.51°, E 88.02°, 79 m GoogleMaps ,

04.11.2020, Y. B. Poudel JF521 ( KATH); Pathibhara Kalika community forest, N 26.50°, E 88.00°, 91 m GoogleMaps , 23.08.2019, Y. B. Poudel & K. Panthi JCF41 ( KATH) .

Notes: Acroceras munroanum (Balansa) Henrard is close to a widespread species A. zizanioides (Kunth) Dandy , but can be distinguished by its smaller spikelets (less than 5 mm), 5–7-nerved lower glume and 7-nerved upper glume ( Bor, 1940; Noltie, 2000).