158 Chase — Notes on Genera of Pankece. IV. 



Panicum cimicinum Retz." Nees states that the genus is allied to An- 

 thaenantia Beauv., but is distinguished by the two-flowered spikelets, 

 the fertile floret aristate. 



Benthain (Fl. Austr. 7:473. 1878) gives " Coridochloa semialata, 

 Nees in various catalogues and herbaria" as a synonym of Panicum 

 semialatum R. Br., and adds "(the genus not published as generally 

 quoted in Edinb. New Phil. Journ. 1832, July)." It would seem that 

 Benthain must have cited this name and reference from memory. We 

 can not find that Xees himself ever placed P. semialatum in Coridochloa, 

 nor can we find any reference to the publication of the genus in 1832. It 

 was probably a slip of memory on Bentham's part for is:;:',. The genus 

 Coridochloa is proposed in a footnote with the statement that it will be 

 treated of at another time, hence Bentham may have considered it as 

 insufficiently published. But Xees states that the genus belongs in the 

 tribe Panicex, names a type species, previously described, and gives the 

 principal distinguishing characters of the spikelet. In Wallieh's Cata- 

 logue (1849) no. S749 "Coridochloa fimbriate Nees ab Esenbeck " is 

 listed, "A. Milium cimicinum HI). Heyn." and " B. Panicum cimicinum 

 Hb. Ham." being given under it. (In a note on page 132 of the Cata- 

 logue it is stated that " Mr. Brown * * * has had the goodness * * * 

 to furnish the provisional list of the family" of grasses). In a criticism 

 of Nees, Bentham (Linn. Soc. Journ. Bot. 19 : IS. 1881) again says 

 "Brown's Australian Panicum semialatum, for instance, is raised by 

 Nees to the rank of a genus under the name of Coridochloa in India, and 

 that of Bluffia in South Africa." It may be that Bentham did not know 

 Panicum cimicinum Retz., for (op. cit. 42) he says "P. semialatum Br. 

 is widely spread over the Old World, for I am unable to distinguish the 

 Asiatic Coridochloa, Nees, and the South African Bluffin, Xees, from 

 Brown's Australian species." 



Hooker (Fl. Brit. Ind. 7 : 64. 1896) places Panicum cimicinum and P. 

 semialatum under Axonopus Beauv. (See discussion under that genus.) 

 Under the second species is given as a synonym " Coridochloa semi-alata, 

 Nees, in Edinb. New Phil. Journ. XV. (is:;:',) 381." This is an error, 

 Nees makes no mention whatever of P. semialatum nor of any species 

 but P. cimicinum Retz. 



This unique species has been placed in Milium (by Linnaeus) in 

 Panicum (by Retzius), in Axonopus (by Beauvois), in Urochloa (by 

 Kunth), and dually in Coridochloa, based on it alone, by Xees. 



Coridochloa, which is perhaps rather remotely allied to the next genus, 

 is distinguished by the concavo-convex, scarcely indurated, stipitate fruit, 

 the lemma attenuate into an awn about as Ion- as the body of the fruit, 

 the palea sparsely covered with stalked glandular hairs ( in appearance 

 like minute fungi), a few of these sometimes scattered on the margin oi 

 the lemma; by the papery glumes and sterile lemma, the second glume 

 conspicuously stifi'-ciliate along the lateral internerves, and by the digitate 

 inflorescence, the slender racemes naked at the base or for half their 

 length. 



