Albert Spear Hitchcock

“ The only other specimen seen is from Torontoy, Urubamba Valley, Peru, at an altitude of 2400 meters, June 10, 1915, Cook & Gilbert No. 1189, said to be called nihuaichu.
This species differs from L. hieronymi (Kuntze) Pilger in the more dense purplish panicle and the longer glumes and lemmas. The glumes of the former are 5 to 7 mm. long, and the lemmas, to the base of the awn, 2.5 to 3 mm. The awns are white and flexuous, while in L. peruvianus they are purple and nearly straight. Some of the florets of the type specimen of L. peruviana are attacked by insects, forming small galls. ”

“ Culms cespitose, erect, glabrous, 2-noded, 20 to 30 cm. tall; sheaths, slightly roughened; ligule on the culm leaves 2 to 3 mm. long, obtuse, firm; blades capillary, involute, glabrous, 5 to 15 cm. long; panicle elliptic, 3 to 4 cm. long, purple, rather compactly few-flowered, the axis, branches and pedicels glabrous; glumes subequal, broad, abruptly acuminate, glabrous, obscurely 5-nerved, about 7 mm. long; lemma about 4.5 mm. long, the callus rather blunt, 1 mm. long, densely hispidulous with fuscous hairs, the body oblong, somewhat over 1 mm. ”

“ Lamprothyrsus hieronymi and its four varieties are from Argentina and Bolivia. Mandon's No. 1360 from Sorata, Bolivia, and a specimen from Province Jujuy, Argentina, collected in 1916, by S.W. Damon, are this species. The last two and also Fiebrig's No. 2099 (type of L. hieronymi tincta Pilger) are pistillate. The type of L. hieronymi (Triraphis hieronymi Kuntze) is staminate. ”