70. Sorghum.] 130. GBAMINE.E. 



Ivhachis of spike tenacious, joints leaving a ragged scar at the tip 

 Avhen forcibly separated. Pedicelled spkts. usually neuter, pedicels 

 short. 



Frequently cultivated in the Northern area, s))aringly on the Chota Nagpur 

 plateau or in the Southern area ! Usuallj' reaped Nov.-Dec. 



Hackel makes 37 varieties of this plant. Stnj)/ has made several species of it. 

 The material at my disposal is altos^ether inadequate to assign most of the B. & O. 

 crops to one or the other. The following forms only have been noted : — 



Var. Roxburghii {F.B.I, vii, p. 184). Syn. S. Ruxhurgliii, Stapf. Panicle oblong 

 dense. Sess. spkt. "2", ovate acuminate aAvnless. Gl. i of sess. spkt. not depressed 

 below the tip, very villous, tip hyaline, nerves obscure. Monghyr, 3Iokim ! 



Var. vulgaris {he. cif.). Panicle erect contracted or sub-effuse. Spikes several 

 on the tlexuous branches, axils villous. Gl. i of sess. spkt. distinctly lO-nerved 

 below tip, "2", tip ^acute depressed and triangnlar above, villous, apiculate ; ii 

 7-nerved ; iii while silky ; iv 2-fid with awn "25". Chota Nagpur ! 



Var. cernuus (loc. cit.). Syn. S. cenumm. Host. Very robust with a thick 

 dense ovoid cernuous head. Frequent ! 



3. S. nitidum, Fers. Syn. Andropogon nitidus, Kuntli. ; Sorghum 



serratuni, Haines (C.P. List) ; Andropogon serratus, Thunb. ; 

 Sorghum fulvum, Beaur. 

 A tall tufted grass 3-8 ft. high, densely villous at the nodes and with 

 leaf -sheaths villous!}^ hairy on one side. Leaves on stem 9"-2-5 ft. 

 by -S-S" with narrow long-hairy base. Keadily recognised by the 

 brown or black shining and brown-hairy spikelets in 2-8- (usually 

 2-4-) nodal spikes solitary at the ends of the filiform sub-verticillate 

 branches of a subsimple lax oblong panicle 5-12" long. 



Rocky shady hill forests. Santal Parg. ! Singbhum. frequent ! Manbhum, 

 Campbell I Hazaribagh, on Parasnath, Clarke, etc.! Palamau, frequent! FI., 

 Fr. Sept. -Dec. Perennial. 



L. setaceously acuminate, with prominent white midrib, often sparsely hairy on 

 both surfaces, hairs often tubercle-based, margins scai)rid, cutting, mouth of 

 sheath silkily villous ; ligule very short truncate. Rhachis and branches of 

 panicle often flexuous, •r5-2'5" long. Joints and pedicels eciual, bearded, one-half 

 to two-thii-ds sess. spkt. Sess. spkt. broadly ellipsoid "IS" long, callus rounded 

 (acute, F.B.I.) ; gl. i broadly oblong or elliptic acute or obtuse, dorsally flattened 

 with incurved margins, brown-hairy and keels hispid, 7-nerved, or about 3-nerved 

 between keels, sometimes nearly black, polished ; ii broadly cymbiform with 

 rounded back, truncately acuminate, margins hyaline ciliate ; iii as long, hyaline, 

 margins inrolled. 2-keeled, ciliate : iv linear-oblong "OS" long. 2-lobed and with an 

 awn "b" long from about midway, or the awn of lower S])kts. (according to 

 Hackel Andropogon serratus var. ge-nuinus has gl. iv 2-lobed and awned and var. 

 nitidus has gl. iv entire awnless ! All our specimens have some of the spkts. with 

 awns). Ped. spkt. linear-oblong. •12", pale or greenish with brown hairs; gl. i 

 oblong rounded or sub-truncate, dor.sally depressed and 2-nerved between the 

 keels; ii eiiual, rather narrower obtuse, margins much inflexed. 3-nerved between 

 keels; iii linear hyaline, male. 



4. S. fascicularis, Haines. Syn. Andropogon fascicularis, Roxb. ; 



Sorghum gangeticum, Sfaj)/.* 

 Erect slender simple or branched 2-3 ft. high (3-5 ft. Roxb.), culms 

 with glabrous or slightly viHous nodes. Leaves very slender, some- 

 times only 1-2" long and -06" A\ide, but in other cases attaining 16" 

 by -4", finely acuminate with sparse tubercle- based hairs near the base 



* .S^'//;/' considered the Avdro/wgon fnscicnlarix of Roxburgh to be an Am philophi* 

 and has named an Amphilophis accordingly. But neither JBox6«»-.7/t'8 descripticm 

 nor his detailed drawing are consistent Avith an Aniphilophi*, and although the 

 general (habit) figure is somewhat more like an Amphilophis it also very well 

 agrees with some specimens of this Sorghuiu. 



1034 



