72 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 
32. Panicum capillarioides Vasey. 
Panicum capillarioides Vasey in Coulter, Contr. Nat. Herb. 1:54, 1890. “Point 
Isabel,”’ collected by “G. ©. Nealley, in the region of the Rio Grande, in Texas.” 
The type specimen, in the National Herbarium, 
bears the name in Vasey’s writing and the serial 
number 634 as in the list in which the species is 
published, 
DESCRIPTION. 
Plants in tufts of few to several culms from a 
knotted crown, erect or ascending, 30 to 55cm. high; 
culms stiff, simple or sparingly branching, ap- 
pressed-pubescent or sometimes glabrate, the nodes 
densely ascending-pubescent; sheaths mostly equal- 
ing or exceeding the rather short internodes, papil- 
lose-pubescent; ligules about 1.5 mm. long; blades 
rather stiff, ascending, 10 to 30 cm, long, 2 to 10 mm. 
wide, scarcely narrowed to the rounded base, flat or 
drying somewhat involute, harshly papillose-pubes- 
cent on both surfaces, usually sparsely so beneath; 
Fid. 57.—P. capillarioides. From panicles short-exserted, usually nearly equaled by 
type specimen. the upper blades, diffuse, few-flowered, 10 to 20 em. 
long, as wide or wider, the capillary branches stiffly spreading at maturity, bearing 
rather short-pediceled spikelets toward the ends, the axis and branches scabrous, the 
rather conspicuous pulvini pubescent; 
spikelets 5 to 6 mm. long, 1 to 1.2 mm. 
wide, lanceolate, long-acuminate; first 
glume one-third to half the length of 
the spikelet, acute, 7-nerved; second 
glume and sterile lemma, subequal, 
many-nerved, at least three times 
as long as the fruit, usually more 
or less inflated above it; fruit 1.6 to 
1.8 mm. long, 0.8 to 0.9 mm. wide, 
elliptic. 
This species is readily distinguished 
from all others by the elongated second glume and sterile lemma, greatly exceeding 
the small fruit. 
Fria. 58.—Distribution of P. capillarioides. 
DISTRIBUTION. 
Prairie, southern Texas and northern Mexico. 
Texas: San Diego, Croft 240, Nealley 69 in 1892; Pena, Nealley 30 in 1891; Kings- 
ville, Piper in 1906; Corpus Christi to Brownsville, Iitchcock 218; without 
locality or date, Buckley (Hitchcock Herb.). 
Mexico: Monterey, Hitchcock 5547. 
33. Panicum diffusum Swartz. 
Panicum diffusum Swartz, Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 23.1788. ‘‘ Jamaica, Hispaniola.” 
The type, in the Swartz Herbarium, is labeled ‘‘diffusum fl. ind. occ.”’ 
Panicum caespititium Lam. Tabl. Encycl. 1: 173.1791, ‘‘Ex Amer. merid. com- 
munic. D. Richard.” The type specimen, in the Lamarck Herbarium, is marked ‘Ex 
D. Richard.”’ 
4 See footnote ¢, page 36. 
