MB. C. B. CLAEKE ON INDIAN SPECIES OF CFPEBUS. 9 



is as near as may be typical 0. corymbosus, Rottb. ; the longer- 

 leaved forms of this (added to much of G. tegetum) make up 

 C. corymbosus, Boeck. ; short-leaved forms are doubtfully distinct 

 specifically from 0. tegetiformis, Roxb. (G. enodis, Boeck.), in 

 which the culm (dried) is often obscurely septate. 



In G. articulatus itself the leaves very generally are subob- 

 solete, but accidentally I have seen leaves 1-2 decim. long even 

 in this species. 



The roughness of the leaf-margins is a character of very small 

 value : most species exhibit it to some extent ; and in the same 

 species the roughness may be evident in some leaves, obscure 

 in other less developed-leaves. The roughness also extends in 

 many species to the upper part of the midrib beneath. The 

 midrib is very prominent in some species, so much so as to be 

 described by Boeckeler as " winged " in G. lucidus, R. Br. 



As in the case of the culms, the breadth and stoutness or tex- 

 ture of the leaves is a much more constant character, both in 

 species and in subsections, than their length. The rigid, thick, 

 incurved, straw-coloured leaves of the Conglomerati have been 

 mentioned. In the group of Elegantes the leaves are unusually 

 broad, flat, green, prominently many-nerved. In the whole sec- 

 tion Mariscus the numerous grass-like leaves are similar. In 

 the Exaltati the leaves are stout, with mostly compressed sheaths ; 

 and in G. platyphyllus attain 2-3 centim. in breadth. In several 

 species, from various groups, the leaves are of coarser looser 

 tissue than usual ; so that when dried they appear full of trans- 

 verse small septa. This is a very constant and convenient cha- 

 racter in particular species, as G. dilutus, Vahl, G. canescens, 

 Vahl, C. virens, Asa Gray, C. Leckleri, iSteud. ; more obscure in 

 0. procerus, Rottb., and many others. 



The leaves are very generally glabrous ; but hairy or pube- 

 rulous in the species mentioned above as having hairy or pube- 

 rulous culms. Also in G. strigosus, and a few other American 

 species, the leaves are strigose upwards, with such very fine hairs, 

 however, that they are hardly noticeable until searched for. 



(4) The Bbacts. 



The bracts to the umbel are the cauline leaves of the plant, 



and are always similar to the radical leaves. This is not true 



merely of species, but of individuals : in a leafless specimen of 



C. Kaspan or C. corymbosus the bracts will be short, much shorter 



