26. Sporobolus.] 139. GRAMINE^. 



y. Panicle 4-6" lon^ much contracted with upright branches •25--35'' long, 

 appearing more densely clothed with spikelets, all '06" long. Santal Parg., 

 Nufker ! Manbhum, Camp. ! 



One of the Manbhum specimens is called S. indieum in Herb. Cal. and this 

 apparentlj^ accounts for the Chota Nagpur locality of that species in Bengal 

 Plants (no others have been received from Calcutta). But all these specimens are 

 in young iiower and it seems to me that the character of the panicle is due to that 

 onlj\ The forms a and /3 are probably due to differences in vigour of the plants. 

 They are not correlated with differences in the shape of the fruit. 



2. S. indicus, Br. 



A somewhat stouter plant than S. diander, 2-3 ft. high with leaves 

 8-24" rarely -3" diam., margins smooth, ligule a few hairs. Panicle 

 up to 15", always very narrow with short erect branches not exceed- 

 ing 1" in length but not always separable from narrow states of S. 

 diander. Spikelets a little larger, -06—08 rarely -09". The fruit is 

 described as broadly obovoid in contra -distinction to that of diander 

 described as obovoid-oblong but the specimens do not bear this out, 

 and ellijDsoid-obovoid fruits are found in this species and almost 

 globose ones in diander. 



Manbhum, Camp. Said to occur throughout India, but this appears the only 

 locality from our area, and it is so young that it is difficult to be sure of it. 



3. S. Wallichii, 3Iu7iro. 



Tall erect with long leaves over 12" and only -07" wide, sheath 

 densely shortl}^ ciliate on the edges at least at the mouth, ligule short 

 closely ciliate and base of blade somewhat hairy above it. Panicle 

 very large, 12-18" with capillary compound branches up to 4" and 

 very scattered spikelets -OT-'OS" rarely -1" long. Pedicels very un- 

 equal, the terminal much longer than lateral, not nearly so divaricate 

 as in Agrostis brachiata (with which it is mixed on one sheet in the 

 Wallich Collection), lateral •1--2". 



Monghja-, Ham. ! Santal Parg., Rajmahal Hills, Wall. (No. 3769a) ! Fl. Aug.- 

 Jan. 



Panicle oblong or sub-pyramidal, decompound, branches opposite and whorled, 

 flowering towartls the tips. Gl. i minute or about ^rd iii, truncate (when unfolded), 

 li = i iii or longer, ovate, acuminate. Grain broadly obliquely obcordate, or 

 oljlong- obovoid and retuse, "03" long. 



4. S. tremulus, Kunth. 



A small grass from a minute herb 1" high onlj^ to 8" or rarely 12", 

 erect, strict, often tufted, from a knotted stoloniferous rootstock. 

 Leaves short erecto-patent •3--75" rarely 1", about their own length 

 apart, nearly up to the panicle. Panicle narrow 1-4" with erect 

 branches, rarely a few spreading. Spikelets •07--08" long crowded 

 articulate on very short pedicels half their OAvn length or less ; rhachilla 

 readily disarticulate above the lowest glumes and these also separately 

 falling. Gl. i about fths iii, lanceolate ; ii and iii subequal. Grain 

 oblong. 



Patna, If n//. (Xo. 3770) ! Manbhum (Raueeganj), i'«r2 ! In grassy places and 

 ditches. Fl. May-Dec. Perennial. 



Leaves flat or convolute with smooth margins, base usually hairy and ligule of a 

 few hairs. Glumes all 1-nerved, palea as long as the glume. 



Hooker states that the spikelets are sub-persistent on the pedicels. Lower 

 Gangetic plain specimens are much larger than our specimens, with weak stems. 



974 



