MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



583 



4. Notata. — Culms in dense tufts, compressed, leafy at base; sheaths 



keeled; racemes 2, rarely 3, paired or nearly so; spikelets 



solitary, glabrous. 



9. Paspalum notatum Fliigge. Bahia grass. (Fig. 1214.) 



Culms 15 to 50 cm tall from a short, stout, woody, horizontal rhizome; 



blades flat or folded; racemes re- 

 curved-ascending, usually 4 to 7 cm 

 long; spikelets ovate to obovate, 3 

 to 3.5 mm long, smooth and shining. 



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Figure 1214.— Paspalum notatum. Panicle, 

 X 1; two views of spikelet, and floret, 

 X 10. (Chase 6639, P.R.) 



Figure 1215.— Paspalum minus. Panicle, 

 X 1; two views of spikelet, and floret, 

 X 10. (Type coll.) 



Ql — Introduced sparingly in New Jersey, Florida, and Louisiana; 

 Mexico and the West Indies to South America. 



10. Paspalum minus Fourn. (Fig. 1215.) Resembling P. nota- 

 tum, commonly in denser mats; culms rarely more than 30 cm tall; 

 racemes more slender; spikelets 2 to 2.5 mm long, less shining than 

 those of P. notatum. % — Open slopes and savannas, coast of 

 Texas (Galveston Bay) ; Mexico to West Indies and Paraguay. 



11. Paspalum almum Chase. Combs paspalum. (Fig. 1216.) 

 Culms in very dense tufts; blades flat, 2 to 3 mm wide, long-hirsute 

 on the upper surface at base, papillose-hirsute on the lower surface 

 toward the ends, the margins stiffly ciliate toward base; racemes 

 slender, approximate, scarcely paired, occasionally 3, ascending, 5 

 to 9 cm long; rachis 1 mm wide, minutely wing-margined; spikelets 

 3 mm long, 1.8 to 2 mm wide, obovate-elliptic ; sterile lemma slightly 

 concave. % —Sandy or silty clay loam, Jefferson County, Tex.; 

 Brazil and Paraguay, Argentina. An excellent forage grass. 



5. Setacea. — Culms compressed from a knotted base or very short 

 rhizome; blades mostly flat; inflorescence terminal and axillary, 

 the axillary sometimes hidden in the sheaths; racemes 1 to few, 

 slender, subcylindric ; spikelets in pairs, crowded. Species 

 closely related with frequent intergrades. 



