139. GRAMINE.E. [15. Hordeum. 



In swamps. Tt has a wide distribution and occurs all round our area, near 

 Purneah and the north-west provinces, Calcutta and the peninsula ; it will 

 probably therefore be found inside the province. 



13. ELYTROPHORUS, Beauv. 



An annual erect grass with narrow flat leaves. Spikelets very 

 minute in globose or ovoid sessile clusters densely or interruptedly 

 packed along a central rhachis and forming a long more or less cylin- 

 drical often lobed or interrupted spiciform panicle ; each cluster 

 consists of very many densely crowded sessile compressed spikelets 

 with awned glumes subtended by many empty glumes, not jointed at 

 the base ; rhachilla jointed at the base and between the fig. glumes. 

 Glumes of perfect spkts. 5-7 ; i and ii subequal empty membranous, 

 mucronate, keeled, 1 -nerved, persistent ; flg. gls. rather larger, 

 narrowed into short awns, 3-nerved, uppermost empty ; palea com- 

 plicate, one or both keels winged. Lod. 2, obliquely oblong. Anthers 

 1-3 minute. Styles free, stigmas long hairy. Grain obliquely oblong, 

 beaked free. 



1. E. articulatus, Beauv. 



A tufted erect usually small grass 6-10" high, sometimes up to 18". 

 Leaves -5" to as long as the plant, up to •!" wide. Spiciform panicle 

 often flowering to the base, cylindric •2--4" wide or lobed with the 

 more unequal and oblong clusters, bright-green. Fl. glumes strongly 

 3-nerved with the scaberulous awn about as long as the -OQ-'Ol" long 

 blade, palea -04 — 05" long and with the Avings nearly as broad above, 

 wings sometimes lacerate. 



Rice-fields, common. Purneah! Ranchi, Fraiii, Gamble I Singbhum ! Man- 

 bhum. Cam}). FL, Fr. Nov. -Dec. 



14. TRITICUM, L. 



Annual or perennial grasses Avith flat leaves. Spikelets sessile 

 tumid, distichously spicate with their sides opposite recesses in the 

 articulate or inarticulate rhachis, solitary in the cavities. Glumes 

 few, rigid, often unequal-sided ; i and ii empty, obtuse or shortly 

 awned, few-nerved, persistent ; flg. gls. oblong or ventricose, dorsally 

 rounded or keeled above, awnless or 1-3-awned, 5-9-nerved, lateral 

 nerves not conniving with the central ; upper fl. male or neuter ; 

 palea with ciliate keels. Lod. entire, ciliate. St. 3. Styles very 

 short. Grain grooved ventrally, often hairy, free or adhering to the 

 palea. 



1. T. sativum, Lamk. Syn. T. vulgare, Villars ; Gehun, giun, H. ; 

 Gom, Beng. Wheat. 



Wheat is commonly grown in the province, but mainly in the Northern area 

 along the Gangetic plain, especiallj' Patna, Shahabad, Monghyr and Bhagul]nir. 

 Very little is grown in the Central area and hardly any in the Southern, the last 

 chiefly an inferior red grain. 



15. HORDEUM, L. 



Erect annual, rarely perennial grasses with flat leaves. Spikelets 

 sessile in 2-more rows spicate in the recesses or at the nodes of a simple 



62 963 



