Triraphis devia

{{Short description|Species of grass}}

{{Speciesbox

|image =

|genus = Triraphis

|species = devia

|authority = Filg. & Zuloaga

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Triraphis devia is a species of grass endemic to Brazil, the only member of its genus native to the Western Hemisphere. Of the 7 other recognized species, 6 are from Africa,1 from Australia.[http://www.tropicos.org/Name/25512615 Tropicos][http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=Triraphis The Plant List][https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/14669#page/36/mode/1up Filgueiras, T. S. & F. O. Zuloaga. 1999. A new Triraphis (Poaceae: Eragrostoideae) from Brazil: first record of a native species in the New World. Novon 9(1): 36–41.]

Three populations of Triraphis devia has been reported, all from the State of Goiás. One of these lies inside Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park.Peterson, P. M. 2001. Triraphis. In Catalogue of New World Grasses (Poaceae): II. Subfamily Chloridoideae. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 41: 231–232.[http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/2010 Forzza, R. C. 2010. Lista de espécies Flora do Brasil http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/2010. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro]

Triraphis devia is a perennial herb with an unbranched flowering stalk bearing a panicle less than 8 cm long.[http://www.tropicos.org/ImageFullView.aspx?imageid=1272 photo of isotype of Triraphis deviaat Missouri Botanical Garden] These characters alone are enough to distinguish the species from others in the genus. Internal anatomy is consistent with the likelihood that the plant has Krantz anatomy. In other words, this is probably a C4 plant, having a photosynthetic metabolism improving efficiency in hot, sunlit environments.Hattersley, PW,. & L Watson. 1976. C4 grasses: an anatomical criterion for determining between NADP-Malic enzyme species and PCK or NAD-Malic enzyme species. Australian Journal of Botany 24:297-308

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