Eriochloa polystachya Kunth

Eriochloa subglabra (Nash) Hitchc. Contr. U. S. Nat
Herb. 12 : 208. 1909.
Monachne subglabra Nash, Bull. Torrey Club 30 : 374. 1903. Eriochloa punctata subglabra Urb. Symb. Ant. 4 : 85. 1903.
Stems 8-12 dm. tall, glabrous, except the densely pubescent nodes; leaf -sheaths ciliate on the margins, the lower ones papillose-hirsute between the nerves; blades flat, fiscending, or the longer ones drooping, glabrous, 1-3 dm. long, 7-17 mm. wide; inflorescence about 1 dm. long, the axis hispidulous on the angles; racemes ascending, 4-6 cm. long, the rachis hispidulous on the margins and more or less setiferous, the short pedicels usually with a few long hairs; s'pikelets about 3.5 mm. long and 1.3 mm. wide, elliptic to ovate-lanceolate, acute, a short seraicircular first scale usually present, the second and third scales about equal, acute, rather sparingly appressed-pubescent, the third scale bearing a staminate flower, the fruiting scale about as long as the spikelet, elliptic, papillose-roughened, mucronate.
Type locality : Martin Pena, Porto Rico. Distribution : Porto Rico.

Perennials, Terrestrial, not aquatic, Rhizomes present, Rhizome short and compact, stems close, Stems trailing, spreading or prostrate, Stems scandent, climbing, tips pendulous, Stems nodes swollen or brittle, Stems geniculate, decumbent, or lax, sometimes rooting at nodes, Stems terete, round in cross section, or polygonal, Stem nodes bearded or hairy, Stem internodes hollow, Stems with inflorescence less than 1 m tall, Stems with inflorescence 1-2 m tall, Stems, culms, or scapes exceeding basal leaves, Leaves mostly basal, below middle of stem, Leaves conspicuously 2-ranked, distichous, Leaves sheathing at base, Leaf sheath mostly open, or loose, Leaf sheath hairy, hispid or prickly, Leaf sheath and blade differentiated, Leaf blades linear, Leaf blades 2-10 mm wide, Leaf blades mostly flat, Leaf blade margins folded, involute, or conduplicate, Leaf blades mostly glabrous, Leaf blades more or less hairy, Ligule present, Ligule a fringed, ciliate, or lobed membrane, Ligule a fringe of hairs, Inflorescence terminal, Inflorescence solitary, with 1 spike, fascicle, glomerule, head, or cluster per stem or culm, Inflorescence a panicle with narrowly racemose or spicate branches, Inflorescence branches more than 10 to numerous, Flowers bisexual, Spikelets pedicellate, Spikelets dorsally compressed or terete, Spikelet less than 3 mm wide, Spikelets with 1 fertile floret, Spikelets with 2 florets, Spikelet with 1 fertile floret and 1-2 sterile florets, Spikelets solitary at rachis nodes, Spikelets paired at rachis nodes, Spikelets all alike and fertille, Spikelets bisexual, Spikelets disarticulating below the glumes, Spikelets secund, in rows on one side of rachis, Rachilla or pedicel glabrous, Glumes present, empty bracts, Glumes 1 clearly present, the other greatly reduced or absent, Glumes distinctly unequal, Glumes equal to or longer than adjacent lemma, Glumes 3 nerved, Glumes 4-7 nerved, Lemmas thin, chartaceous, hyaline, cartilaginous, or membranous, Lemma coriaceous, firmer or thicker in texture than the glumes, Lemma becoming indurate, enclosing palea and caryopsis, Lemma 5-7 nerved, Lemma glabrous, Lemma rugose, with cross wrinkles, or roughened, Lemma apex truncate, rounded, or obtuse, Lemma awnless, Lemma mucronate, very shortly beaked or awned, less than 1-2 mm, Lemma margins inrolled, tightly covering palea and caryopsis, Lemma straight, Palea present, well developed, Palea membranous, hyaline, Palea longer than lemma, Stamens 3, Styles 2-fid, deeply 2-branched, Stigmas 2, Fruit - caryopsis.

Eriochloa polystachya is a species of grass known by the common name Caribbean cupgrass. It is native to the West Indies, Costa Rica, Honduras, South America, Florida and Texas.

Eriochloa polystachya là một loài thực vật có hoa trong họ Hòa thảo. Loài này được Kunth mô tả khoa học đầu tiên năm 1816.