Chionachne macrophylla (PROSEA)

Plant Resources of South-East Asia Introduction

List of species

Chionachne macrophylla (Benth.) W.D. Clayton

Protologue: Kew Bull. 35(4): 814 (1981).

Family: Gramineae

Chromosome number: 2n= 40

Synonyms

Polytoca macrophylla Benth. (1881).

Vernacular names

• Indonesia: kumkum (Ternate)
• Papua New Guinea: chaska (New Britain).

Origin and geographic distribution

C. macrophylla occurs in the Moluccas, New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago and the Louisiade Archipelago. It has been experimentally planted as a forage elsewhere, e.g. in Java.

Uses

In New Britain (Papua New Guinea) the juice from C. macrophylla is drunk to treat cough. It is a useful forage with fair nutritional value.

Botany

A large perennial herb up to 250 cm tall; culms erect or slanting, compressed, often branched. Leaves alternate, lanceolate to linear-lanceolate, 20-80 cm × 2.5-6 cm, narrowed at base and acuminate at apex, scabrous at margins, glabrous, with broad, pale midrib; sheath with long, sharp, white, easily caducous hairs along the margin and in central part, ligule short, truncate. Inflorescence an axillary many-jointed spike-like raceme up to 20 cm long, usually gathered into a compound panicle. Spikelets in alternate pairs, in each pair 1 pedicelled and 1 sessile, sessile spikelets male or female, pedicelled spikelets male, sterile or rudimentary, all spikelets 1-1.5 cm long; male spikelets 2-flowered, female spikelets 1-flowered, in lower part of raceme; glumes many-veined, lemma slightly shorter, 3-veined, awnless, palea about equally long as lemma, 2-veined; male flowers with 2 lodicules and 3 stamens with linear anthers; female flowers with long styles shortly connate at base, stigmas long. Fruit an ovoid, dorsally compressed caryopsis c. 3.5 mm long, with a broad rounded-emarginate base.

Female spikelets have a white elaiosome at the base. Dispersal of the spikelet is by ants, which are attracted by the elaiosome.

Chionachne comprises about 7 species and occurs from India, throughout South-East Asia to Australia and Polynesia. It belongs to the tribe Andropogoneae , subtribe Chionachninae . It is traditionally included in the tribe Maydeae , together with e.g. Zea mays L. (maize), but this is a heterogenous group.

Ecology

C. macrophylla occurs at forest margins and on stream sides.

Genetic resources

There is no reason to consider C. macrophylla threatened.

Prospects

It is unlikely that the medicinal uses of C. macrophylla , which are of little importance to date, will increase. Perhaps it has prospects as a forage.

Literature

334, 347.

Other selected sources

62.

Main genus page

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Authors

R.H.M.J. Lemmens