HITCHCOCK AND CHASE—-NORTH AMERICAN PANICUM. 73 
DESCRIPTION. 
Plants in small, dense tufts, spreading, or ascending from a decumbent base, simple 
or sparingly branching, rarely repeatedly branching, 25 to 50 cm. high; culms slender, 
wiry, glabrous, the nodes appressed-pubescent; sheath, 
shorter than the internodes, striate, glabrous, or pubes 
cent along the margin toward the summit or the lower 
sparsely so throughout; ligules about 1 mm. long; blades 
erect from the sheath but often spreading at the ends, 5 
to 20 em. long, 1 to 3 mm. wide, flat or drying subinvo- 
lute, sparsely pilose on the upper surface, glabrous or 
sparingly pubescent beneath; panicles exserted, 5 to 10 
cm. long, nearly as wide, the few capillary branches at 
first ascending, stiffly spreading at maturity, bearing 
a few short-pediceled spikelets toward the ends; spike- 
lets 2.1 to 2.5 mm. long, about 1 mm. wide; first glume about half the length of the 
spikelet, acute, 5-nerved; second glume and sterile lemma 7 to 9-nerved; fruit 1.5 
to 1.6 mm. long, 0.9 mm. wide, elliptic. 
A collection from Santo Domingo, Wright, Parry & Brummel 627, is doubtfully 
referred here. It consists of tall plants, 60 to 70 em. high, with spikelets 2.8 to 3 mm. 
long. The blades are narrow as in P. diffusum, but hirsute on both surfaces as in 
P. ghiesbreghtii. 
Fia. 59.—P. diffusum. Fromtype 
specimen. 
DISTRIBUTION. 
Savannas and borders of open woods, West Indies. 
Banamas: New Providence, Britton & Brace 424, 
JuBA: Habana, Ledn 190, 305 in part, 923, 923b; Santiago de las Vegas, Baker & 
Wilson 511, Tracy 9111, Van Hermann 1444, Wilson 1405; Triscornia, Tracy 
9082; Guanajay, Palmer & Riley 802; Prov. of Santa Clara, Leén 923c; with- 
out locality, Wright 3852, 3860 in part, 3877; Isle of Pines, Nueva Gerona, 
Curtiss 384, 494. 
DanisH West InpiEs: St. Thomas, Eggers in 1882. 
Winpwarp Is_anps: Martinique, Duss 536. 
34. Panicum filipes Scribn. 
Panicum filipes Scribn. in Heller, Contr. Herb. Frankl. Marsh. Coll. 1:13, 1895. 
“Growing in rich shaded ground in the upper part of the ‘Arroyo,’ at Corpus Christi,”’ 
Texas. The type, in Hitchcock’s herbarium, was col- 
lected May 31, 1894, by A. A. Heller, no. 1809. The 
panicle is rather more lax and has longer, more delicate 
branchlets than usual in the species, and spikelets 2.5 
to 2.6 mm. long. 
DESCRIPTION. 
Plants pale green, in small dense tufts, erect or 
ascending, 30 to 80 cm. high; culms simple or spar- 
ingly branching, stiff, glabrous except the appressed- 
pubescent nodes; sheaths shorter than the internodes, 
glabrous or sparsely appressed-hispid toward the sum- 
mit; ligules about 1.5 mm. long; blades thin, ascend- 
ing or laxly spreading, 10 to 25 cm. long, 3 to 8 mm. wide, flat, glaucous and glabrous 
on the upper surface, glabrous beneath or very sparsely papillose-hirsute; panicles 
exseried, usually equaled or exceeded by the uppermost blades, 7 to 25 cm. long, 
about as wide, the distant branches spreading, the branchlets rather more numerous 
and the spikelets usually longer-pediceled than in P, diffusum, spikelets 2 to 2.6 mm. 
Fic. 60.—P. fillipes. From type 
specimen. 
