139. GRAMINE.E. [44. Echinochloa. 



subsecund. Gl. i = ^ iii, obtuse or acute 3-5-nerved ; ii and iii sub- 

 equal acute or acuminate 5-nerved ; iii neute.' with small palea ; 

 iv thinly coriaceous, white, as long as iii. 



Tarai, near Purneah ! Monghyr {at Jamalpur), Cal. Herb. ! Fl., Fr. July-Nov. 



L. with broadly cordate base, glabrous or sparsely hairy beneath, sheath 

 glabrous or sparselj' hairy with villous mouth, lig-ule very short. Panicle greeu 

 with scaberulous rhachis, primary branches 2-5". Spikelets '07-'\", sessile or 

 shortly pedicelled, stronglj'-nerved, subacute, not membranous as in P. maximum 

 which it sometimes somewhat resembles (it is called P. maximum in TVall. Cat, 

 No. 8715/). In one specimen gl. ii is 7-nerved. 



44. ECHINOCHLOA, Beam. 



Annual or perennial with linear leaves, ligule or a transverse- 

 fringe of hairs. Panicles of crowded or loosely arranged secund 

 spiciform racemes with triquetrous rhachis. Spikelets secund on the 

 racemes (or "spikes"), close, 2-nate or clustered, articulate on their 

 short pedicels, ovate to elhptic- or lanceolate-oblong, usually cuspidate 

 or awned, flat or depressed ventrally, the flat side turned away from 

 the axis, dorsally convex. Gl. i much the shortest, more or less 

 amplexicaul and ovate, 3-5-nerved, often mucronate or cuspidate ; 

 ii as long as spkt., concave, 5-7 -nerved, acute to cuspidate or aristu- 

 late ; iii as long, depi-essed dorsally, often cuspidate or aristate, palea 

 nearly equal or reduced, finely 2-keeled; iv ovate to elliptic-oblong, 

 obtuse or apiculate, coriaceous or crustaceous polished, very convex 

 on the back with the back towards the axis, margins involute and 

 embracing the sides but not the tip of the palea, palea similar in length 

 and texture. Grain bi'oad-elliptic. 



The following key is based on Stapf's (in Fl. Trop. Africa) : 

 I. Wild species : — 



A. Gl. i and iv equally obtuse acute or cuspidulate. 



Spikes 3-i-ranked, mostly short suberect : — 

 Ligule 0. Gl. i and ii minutely rigidly and ap- 

 pressedly pubescent between the nerves. Annual 1. colona. 



B. Gl. i and iv cuspidate or aristate. Spikes suberect 



or spreading : — 

 Ligule 0, region of junction of blade and sheath 



discoloured inside, very finely pubescent or 



glabrous : — 

 Spkts. •12", gl. iii cuspidate or more or less awned. 



An annual weed 2. criis-gaUi. 



Ligule a distinct fringe of hairs (at least in lower 



leaves) : — 

 Spkts. ovate-oblong to lane. -oblong •17-*25" long, 



awn 0-1" long. Spikes more or less nodding, 



loosely arranged in a secuud panicle. Perennial 



or occasionally annvial and then meagre and 



slender staguina 



(pp. 998, 999). 



IE. Cultivated friimentacea 



(p. 998 big). 



1. E. colona, Link. Syn. Panicum colonum, L. ; P. cuspidatum, 



Roxb. ; Jhari (Khondmals). 



A tufted slender grass sometimes only a few inches high but usually 



ascending to about 2 ft. Leaves up to -3" broad, glabrous or scaberulous, 



Ligule 0. Spikes not crowded but mostly longer than the internodes 



997 



