Rhodora 
JOURNAL OF 
THE NEW ENGLAND BOTANICAL CLUB 
Vol. 13. August, 1911. 
No. 152. 
TYPE OF THE GENUS PANICUM. 
A. S. Hircucock. 
In a recent article! Dr. J. A. Nieuwland has discussed the Type 
of the Genus Panicum. The author maintains that the name Panicum 
should be applied to the group containing the historic type, Panicum 
italicum, and that the group to which the name is applied by recent 
authors, and which contains such species as Panicum dichotomum 
L. and P. capillare L., should receive a new name. For this group he 
proposes the name Chasea, and lists under this name several species 
of Panicum. 
Due probably to his limited library and herbarium facilities and his 
unfamiliarity with the group of grasses involved in the discussion, 
the author has made a variety of errors. It seems worth while placing 
upon record certain corrections as to facts together with a few state- 
ments concerning differences of opinion. 
I agree with the author that the historic type of Panicum is P. 
italicum L. If the name Panicum should be applied to the group 
containing P. italicum L., then the name Milium should be applied 
to the genus containing P. miliaceum, the historic type of Milium. 
It may be remarked that, after 1753 the name Panicum was used in 
this sense by Miller, Adanson, and Moench, and more recently by 
Bubani? The whole subject of the type of the genus Panicum has 
been discussed in the recent revision of the North American species ? 
which, however, Dr. Nieuwland apparently has not seen. 
1The American Midland Naturalist 2: 60. 1911. 
2 Fl. Pyren. 4: 261. 1901. 
3 Contr. Nat. Herb. 15: 11-15. 1910. 
