HITCHCOCK AND CHASE—GRASSES OF THE WEST INDIES. 335 
Panicum petiolatum Nees, Agrost. Bras. 140. 1829. 
Panicum lagotes Trin. Mém. Acad. St. Pétersb. VI. Sci. Nat. 1: 326. 1834. 
Ichnanthus petiolatus Doell in Mart. Fl. Bras. 27: 278. 1877. 
A straggling or clambering perennial, a meter or more long, with short- 
petioled broad blades, puberulent beneath, and long-exserted, rather open 
panicles, the short-pediceled spikelets about 5 mm. long. 
Among shrubs, Trinidad (Trin. Bot. Gard. Herb. 2278) and Tobago (Broad- 
way 4472) to Brazil. Originally described from Brazil. The type specimens 
of all the synonyms mentioned above also come from Brazil. 
8. Ichnanthus ichnodes (Griseb.). 
Panicum ichnodes Griseb. Fl. Brit. W. Ind. 551. 1864. 
A robust, sparingly branching perennial about 2 meters tall with pilose or 
sometimes glabrate sheaths, long flat scabrous blades, as much as 2.5 cm. wide, 
and large many-flowered panicles with whorled, finally spreading branches and 
blunt long-pediceled spikelets, the wings on the fertile lemma well developed, 
one-fourth the length of the fruit. When immature the panicle branches are 
erect, giving the panicle a dense club-shaped form very unlike that of the spread- 
ing mature panicle. 
Wood borders, in partial shade, Trinidad, whence originally described, to 
Brazil. 
388. LASIACIS (Griseb.) Hitche. 
Inflorescence of open (rarely compact) panicles terminating the culm and 
leafy branches; spikelets subglobose, placed obliquely on their pedicels; glumes 
and sterile lemma broad, papery, shining, glabrous, commonly lanate at the 
apex; fruit white, bony-indurate, obovoid, both lemma and palea bearing at 
the apex, in a slight crateriform excavation, a tuft of woolly hairs, the palea 
concave below, gibbous above, the apex often free at maturity ; woody-stemmed 
clambering (rarely crawling) perennials. . 
The climbing species are called “ tibisi” in Cuba, a name which is also ap- 
plied to clambering bamboos and to Olyra latifolia. 
Main stem prostrate. 
Blades lanceolate, mostly less than 5 cm. long; flowering branches strongly 
dorsiventral, mostly prostrate_____--________----_-_---- 1. L. rugelii. 
Blades linear-lanceolate, about 10 to 12 cm. long; flowering branches ascend- 
ing, not dorsiventral _ — _ _-2. L. grisebachii. 
Main stem clambering (rooting at the lower nodes in no. 3). 
Ligule noticeable, brown, about 2 mm. long. 
Blades scabrous on both surfaces, otherwise glabrous, elongate, more 
than 10 times as long as wide_________________ 8. L. oaxacensis. 
Blades puberulent beneath, glabrous above, less than 10 times as long 
as wide - ___-6. L. ligulata. 
Ligule inconspicuous, hidden by the mouth of the sheath (sometimes as 
much as 1 mm. long). 
_ Blades glabrous on both surfaces. 
Blades narrow, usually 3 to 4 mm., sometimes 5 mm., wide, 8 to 10 
em. long_ _4, L. harrisii. 
Blades more than 5 mm. wide, or if narrower the length only 
4 or 5 cm. 
Panicles few-flowered, 5 to 10 cm. long; branches strongly zig- 
zag, the branchlets divaricate or reflexed ; blades mostly 
less than 1 cm. wide (sometimes wider on vigorous sterile 
shoots) 5. L. divaricata. 
47877 °—17——_6 
