Themeda trichiata S. L. Chen & T. D. Zhuang

This species is very close to Themeda caudata, but has hairs on the leaves and culms, and shorter, more slender awns.

Perennial. Culms tufted, stout, ca. 1.5 m tall, 0.7 mm or more in diam., loosely hirsute especially below nodes. Leaf sheaths glabrous or hirsute along margins, hirsute on back near blade; leaf blades 40–80 × 0.4–0.6 cm, abaxial surface hirsute, contracted at base, acuminate; ligule ca. 1.5 mm, margin lacerate. Compound panicle open, branches pilose, spathes hirsute at least on margins, each subtending a further spathe and up to 3 spatheoles with racemes; spatholes 2.5–3 cm, glabrous; peduncle villous at apex. Raceme composed of 1 spikelet pair and a terminal triad above the involucre of 2 homogamous pairs. Homogamous spikelets arising at slightly different levels, one pair subsessile, barren, the other pair staminate, 12–15 mm, narrowly lanceolate, minutely puberulous. Sessile spikelet dorsally compressed, 7–7.5 mm; callus ca. 2 mm, acute; lower glume oblong-lanceolate, slightly flattened, densely brown strigose; upper lemma stipitiform; awn 2–4.5 cm. Pedicelled spikelet 12–15 mm. Fl. and fr. Aug–Dec.

* Dry mountain slopes. Guangxi, Hainan, Yunnan.