GRAMINE^. 447 



glumes equal in length and completely enclosing the rest ; 

 inner flowering glume and palea alike thin, papery, but 

 ultimately becoming hard. Grain ovoid, enclosed in the 

 hardened glume and palea. 



Species i6o, in the tropics of both hemispheres, but chiefly 

 in America, where in the temperate parts they form an important 

 part of the Rampos grass. 



Paspalum perrottctii Hook.f. ; KB. I. vii 20, I 15. Stem 

 creeping below, very variable in height, 6 to 24 inches 

 much branched below. Leaves 2 to 6 inches by ^ to % 

 inch, glabrous or hairy. Sheaths l^ to 2 inches. 

 Ligule }i inch, scarious. Panicle 2 to 4 inches, of four or 

 five whorls of slender spikes. Spikelets in pairs with 

 unequal stalks so as to be distributed evenly along the 

 spike: glume i 1/12 inch, seven or nine-nerved; gl. ii nearly 

 as long seven to nine-nerved; gl. iii nerveless smooth. 



Nilgiris : in the Botanic gardens at Ootacamund. Pulneys : 

 at 5,500 feet. Not collected above. Bourne 1277, 1278, 2306, 

 2305, etc. 



Gen. Dist, Also Ceylon, North Africa. 



ISACHNE. F.B.I. 173 III. 



Perennial grasses. Spikelets globular or elliptic, two- 

 flowered and differing from all the other Panicaceas in 

 not being jointed to the pedicel below the lowest glumes, 

 but above the first pair as in the Poaces. Two first 

 glumes nearly equal. Two flowering glumes, thin but 

 hardening in fruit and with the hardened paleas 

 enclosing the hemispherical grain. 



About 20 species, widely distributed in the warmer parts of 

 the world, more especially Asia, Africa, and across to Australia 

 and Japan ; rare in America. 



Glumes i and ii longest : spikelets hairy ... I. kunthiana. 

 Glume iii longer than iv ; glumes i and ii shorter : glabrous . . 



I. australis. 

 Glume i much shorter than ii and iii. Leaves ^ inch broad. 



I. gardneri. 



