370 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 
Vilfa jacquemontii Trin. Mém. Acad. St. Pétersb. VI. Sci. Nat. 4: 92. 1840. 
Vilfa indica Trin. ; Steud. Nom. Bot. ed. 2. 2: 767. 1841. 
Culms erect, 0.6 to 1 meter tall, in large clumps with numerous leafy shoots 
at the base; panicle 15 to 30 cm. long, the slender branches ascending, the short- 
pediceled spikelets mostly borne along the lower side. Often forming an 
almost pure stand on open slopes, an important constituent of native pastures. 
Grassy hills and dry savannas, Bahamas and Mexico to northern South 
America. Originally described from Jamaica. Sporobolus lamarckii was de- 
seribed from “India Occidentali” and S. jacquemontii from Santo Domingo. 
Found throughout the West Indies. In Cuba called “ espartillo” and “ espar- 
tillo fino.” 
9. Sporobolus berteroanus (Trin.). 
?Agrostis tenuissima Spreng. Syst. Veg. 1: 258. 1825, not Sporobolus tenuis- 
simus (Schrank) Kuntze, 1898. 
Vilfa berteroana Trin. Mém. Acad. St. Pétersb. VI. Sci. Nat. 4*: 100, 1840, 
Sporobolus angustus Buckl. Proe. Acad. Phila. 1862: 88. 1862. 
Resembling the preceding, the panicle narrower, the shorter densely flowered 
branches erect. The abundant reddish ripe grains extruded from the glumes 
often remain attached to the panicle by their mucilaginous coats, 
Open, mostly moist ground and waste places, southern,United States to South 
America, apparently introduced in the West Indies. Originally described from 
Santo Domingo; Agrostis tenuissima described from the West Indies, and 8. an- 
gustus from Texas. This species has been included with the preceding under 
Sporobolus indicus, and by some botanists’ has been described as Sporobolus 
indicus, while the preceding species has been distinguished as Sporobolus 
jacquemontii. Often affected by a black fungus. 
Bermuda, Bahamas (New Providence), Cuba, Jamaica, Porto Rico, St. Croix, 
St. Jan, Tortola, Antigua, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Grenada, Trini- 
dad, and Tobago. 
10. Sporobolus purpurascens (Swartz) Hamilt. Prodr, Pl. Ind. Oce. 5. 1825. 
Agrostis purpurascens Swartz, Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 25, 1788. 
Vilfa purpurascens Beauv. Ess. Agrost, 16, 182, 1812. 
Vilfa grisebachiana Fourn. Mex. Pl. 2: 98. 1886. 
Culms slender, erect, tufted, with numerous short leaves at base, naked 
above, the blades flat, rather thin; panicle 10 to 15 cm. long, the short branches 
in usually rather distant whorls, spikelet-bearing to the base. 
Grassy slopes, southern United States, eastern Mexico, Cuba (Province of 
Pinar del Rio), and Jamaica (Blue Mountains). Originally described from 
Jamaica. The type of Vilfa grisebachiana is Wright 3427 from Cuba. 
11. Sporobolus cubensis Hitche. Contr, U. 8. Nat. Herb, 12: 287. 1909. 
Differs from the preceding in having long firm involute blades and pyramidal 
panicles, the branches commonly 2 to 3 cm. long, naked at base. 
Sandy barrens, Cuba (Province of Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines) and Porto 
Rico (Mayaguez, Heller 4590); also in Venezuela. Originally described from 
Isle of Pines, the type being Curtiss 392. 
68. POLYPOGON Desf. 
Spikelets short-pedicellate; glumes awned, exceeding the short-awned lemma. 
Plants annual; panicle dense and silky __---------------- 1. P. monspeliensis. 
Plants perennial; panicle lobed or interrupted, not silky----~-- 2. P. littoralis. 
*Griseb, Fl. Brit. W. Ind. 533. 1864, 
