358 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



2. Olyra ciliatifolia Raddi, Agrost. Bras. 19. 1823. 



Much smaller, the culms tufted, no strong main cane as in Olyra latifolia. 

 Specimens of this lacking the base resemble specimens of 0. latifolia consisting 

 of branches only, but may be distinguished by the smaller narrower panicle 

 and pubescent fruit. 



Rich woods, Trinidad (Port of Spain) to Brazil. Originally described from 

 Rio de Janeiro. Referred by Grisebach ^ to 0. semiovata Trin. 



53. LITHACHNE Beauv. 



Plants monoecious ; spikelets in small axillary panicles, these with a single 

 pistillate spikelet at the summit and 1 to several staminate spikelets below; 

 terminal panicle if present wholly staminate ; first glume of pistillate spikelet 

 wanting ; second glume and sterile lemma herbaceous, long-acuminate ; fruit 

 bony-indurate, laterally subcompressed, the lemma greatly swollen or gibbous 

 on the back, the narrow palea slightly convex ; staminate spikelets reduced to 

 the lemma and palea. 



Blades 1.5 to 3 cm. wide 1. L. pauciflora. 



Blades less than 5 mm. wide 2. L. pineti. 



1. Lithachne pauciflora (Swartz) Beauv. ; Poir. Diet. Sci. Nat. 27: 60. 1823. 

 Olyra pauciflora Swartz, Prodr. Veg. Ind. Occ. 21. 1788. 



Olyra axillaris Lam. Encycl. 4: 547. 1797. 



Lithachne axillaris Beauv. Ess. Agrost. 166. pi. 2^. f. 11. 1812. 



A tufted perennial, the slender hard culms geniculate and naked below, as- 

 cending and leafy above, commonly 30 to 50 cm. tall, the flat asynnnetrical 

 rhombic-lanceolate acuminate spreading blades usually 5 to 8 cm. long, crowded 

 toward the summit, the small axillary panicles produced from the upper sheaths. 



Moist woods up to about 2,000 meters, Mexico, Central America, and the 

 West Indies. Originally described from Jamaica. Olyra axillaris was described 

 from Cayenne. In Cuba called " pito enano." 



Cuba, Jamaica, Porto Rico, Antigua, Guadeloupe, and Martinique. 



2. Lithachne pineti (Wright) Chase, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washington 21: 182. 1908. 

 Olyra pineti Wright; Griseb. Mem. Amer. Acad. n. ser. 8: 532. 1862. 



A tufted perennial, with capillary culms about 20 cm. long, naked below, 

 bearing small flat reflexed blades above, the axillary racemes bearing 1 to 

 few spikelets. 



Only known from the type collection, Wright 1536, from " eastern Cuba." 



54. RADDIA Bertol. 



Plants monoecious; staminate and pistillate spikelets in distinct small 

 panicles, the stamiuate terminal or from the upper nodes, the pistillate axillary; 

 first glume of the pistillate spikelets wanting, the second glume and sterile 

 lemma membranaceous, acuminate ; fruit dorsally subcompressed, bony-indurate. 



Fruit pubescent; blades 5 to 7 cm. long 1. R. biformis. 



Fruit glabrous ; blades not over 4 cm. long. 



Blades about 3 cm. long ; fruit 6 to 7 mm. long 2. R. urbaniana. 



Blades 1 to 1.5 cm. long; fruit about 2 mm. long 3. R. nana. 



1. Raddia biformis sp. nov. 



Perennial, rhizomatous, 15 to 30 cm. high ; culms cespitose, simple, slender, 

 ascending or erect from strongly geniculate lower nodes, striate-sulcate, with a 



' Fl. Brit. W. Ind. 535. 1864. 



