GRAMINEAE 



10. Indian Rice Tribe (Zizanieae)— Spikelets 1-flowered, unisexual or perfect, fall- 

 ing entire; aquatic or subaquatic grasses. 



11. Shu Ts'u {Paniceae)— Spikelets dorsally compressed, with 1 perfect terminal 

 floret and a sterile or staminate floret below; lemma and palea of floret indurate; 

 spikelets falling entire; a tribe of many genera, mostly tropical and subtropical. 



12. Yeh Ku Ts'ao Ts'u {Arundinellae)— Spikelets slightly compressed laterally, 

 with 1 perfect terminal awned floret and a staminate floret below; glumes persistent 

 or readily falling. A small tribe with but one genus in our flora. 



13. Kao Liang Ts'u {Andropogoneae)— Spikelets typically in pairs, 1 sessile and 

 perfect, the other pediceled and staminate or neuter, solitary or numerous, arranged 

 along a jointed or continuous axis, forming racemes, these borne singly on the branches, 

 or paired or in fascicles, in a compound inflorescence; or the racemes numerous along a 

 stout or slender axis, forming dense to open panicles; spikelets with 1 perfect floret and a 

 sterile lemma below; the spikelets falling entire; a large tribe, including sugarcane 

 and kaoliang. The arrangement of spikelets is variable and in some genera (Hacke- 

 lochloa, Hetcropogon, Themeda, and others) complex; see generic descriptions. 



14. Yii Shu Ch'u Ts'u {Maydeae)— Spikelets unisexual; the staminate in pairs, 

 2-flowered, falling entire; the pistillate single, 2-flowered, the lower floret sterile, in 

 Coix enclosed in indurate beadlike sheathing bracts, the staminate inflorescence 

 protruding through the orifice at the apex, readily falling; in Zea the staminate 

 spikelets numerous in long racemes in a large terminal panicle; pistillate inflorescence 

 in the axils or the leaves, the spikelets in several to many rows on a thickened rachis 

 (the cob) the whole enclosed in the numerous foliaceous bracts (husks), the elongate 

 styles extending from the summit as a mass of silky threads. 



The treatment of Gramineae was contributed by Y. L. Keng, recognized authority on Chinese 

 grasses, but several years have passed since the manuscript was prepared. It was not feasible 

 to communicate with Dr. Keng so Agnes Chase, of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, 

 has kindly brought the manuscript up to date, as to nomenclature, while endeavoring to main- 

 tain Dr. Keng's concept of the relationships of genera and species in this very technical and 

 important family. 



Key to the Tribes 



A. Spikelets many-1-fld.; sterile 'florets (when present) above the fertile, 

 disarticulating above (rarely below) the glumes; the rachilla 



frequently prolonged behind the upper palea A. FESTUCOIDEAE 



B. Culms woody, perennial I- Bambuseae 



BB. Culms herbaceous, annual. 



C. Spikelets sessile or nearly so, arranged in spikes or spike- 

 like racemes. 

 Spikelets on one side of the rachis; spikes many to 1, 



paniculate, racemose, or digitate IV. Chlorideae 



Spikelets on opposite sides of the rachis; spike terminal, 



single V. Hordeae 



CC. Spikelets pedicelled (subsessile in Lophatherum and Braehy- 

 podium), arranged in open or contracted panicles, or 

 rarely in racemes. 

 D. Spikelets many-2-fld. 



Second glume usually shorter than the first floret; 

 awns, when present, usually terminal or rarely from 

 the bifid apex of the lemma II. Festuceae 



