193 
been known for so long as Paspalum racemulosum Nutt. The 
racemes in his species are described as “ brevibus” and the rachis 
as “pilosis,” neither of which characters are to be found in our 
plant, which has the racemes exceptionally long for this genus. 
«Clavellate receptacle of the flowers pilose” and “ calix villous” 
are surely not descriptive of these parts in this grass, the spikelets 
of which are very glabrous and the pedicels only puberulent. 
There is in the herbarium of Columbia University a specimen 
ticketed as follows: «‘ Panicum Alabamense’ Trin. in lit. 11. Jul. 
1832. Alabama, Dr. H. Gates, 1831.” This is apparently in Dr. 
Torrey’s hand writing, and is pretty clear evidence as to the plant 
of Trinius published by Steudel. I can discover no essential dif- 
ferences between it and Paspalum bifidum. The leaves are some- 
what broader and the racemes more numerous, but the habit, 
character of the spikelets, racemes and pubescence, and its distri- 
bution are the same. Other specimens from the Gulf States are 
similar to the one labeled.as above. 
Judging from the description given by Prof. Beal in Grasses of 
North America (2: 87, 1896), Itake the P. racemosum of that work, 
which he has accredited to Lamarck, to be this plant. I am ata 
loss to understand, if the description has been seen by him, why. 
he should adopt this name, as a mere casual comparison of La- 
marck’s description with our plant would show the error of such a 
decision. The P. racemosum Lam., was originally published in his 
Illustrations (1: 176), but a much more extended description, in 
which a reference is made to the first publication, is given in the 
Encyclopedia Methodique (5: 32), where it is stated that the plant 
is remarkable for its branching culms, and, further, that the inflo- 
rescence is composed of a large number of short spikes, 40-50, 
and that the rachis is flat. He also remarks that his plant came 
originally from Peru. This would hardly describe the grass which 
I think Prof. Beal had in mind, in which the culms are never 
branching but always simple, the racemes unusually long for this _ 
genus and erect, and the rachis somewhat triquetrous and narrow 
but not flat. Moreover, one would hardly expect to find native in oo 
the southern Atlantic and Gulf States a Plast which i is indigenous aa 
to Peru. ads 
_ © Panicum BICKNELLII n. sp. 
Whole plant, with the exceptions noted below, smooth and 
