i:j9. GRAMINE.E. [72. Dichanthium. 



keeled, centre keel very pronounced ; iii hyaline ; iv reduced to the 

 hyaline base of a slender awn, palea minute or ; lodicules minute 

 glabrous ; grain oblong, obtuse, dorsally compressed. Pedicelled 

 spkt. i oblong many-nerved ; ii flat with sharply inflexed margins 

 closing over the hyaline iii if present and the 3 stamens ; iv usually 0, 

 never awned. 

 1. Perennial. Sessile and pedicelled spkt.!<. coiicolorous : — 



Nodes rai-ely villous. Spikes 1-few. Gl. i (sess. spkt.) elliptic- 

 oblong- often wing-ed above oi" denticulate. Callus glabrous. 



Joints and pedicels "Ol-'Oo" only 1. caricomm. 



Nodes mostly villous. Spikes 3-20. Gl. i oblong, never winged 

 nor denticulate, with few or many loug hairs. Callus shortly 



bearded. Joints and pedicels over 'Oo" 2. avnulatum. 



II. Annual. Sessile spkt. white villous, ped. spkt. brown glabrous 3. Clarkei, 



1. D. caricosum, comb. nov. Syn. Andropogon caricosus, L. 



Stem 1-2 ft. erect or ascending from a creeping base or almost 

 entirely decumbent, slender (in our area) Avith narrowly linear leaves 

 2-5" by •\--\b" (sometimes larger outside our area and see variety), 

 finely acuminate, glabrous or sparsely hairy, ligule veiy short mem- 

 branous truncate ciliolate. Spikes 1-4 subdigitate (shortly spicate) 

 on the peduncle, 1-4" long with the sj)ikelets closely subdistichously 

 imbricate. Sessile spkt. with callus rounded and glabrous, gl. i 

 •14-- 15" broadly elliptic-oblong or somewhat obovoid, rounded trun- 

 cate or denticulate at the tip, often winged on the shoulders and 

 shoulders hispid, tip often 2 -toothed, back sparsely shortly hairy, 

 5-7 -nerved between the keels, keel-nerves the only ones reaching the 

 tip ; ii oblong-lanceolate, o-keeled, obtuse or, Avhen opened out, 

 narroAvly truncate, glabrous. Joints and pedicels •04--05" only, 

 villous on one side and with few hairs at base and tip. Ped. spkt. 

 •15" obovoid-oblong, gl. i 11 -nerved, laxly hairj^ shoulders scabrid, 

 ii margins broadly inflexed closing over iii and the 3 stamens. 



Ranchi, Wood ! Manbhum, Campbell ! Orissa, Wahh ! 



I believe there is no single character by which caricosum can be distinguished 

 from annulatuiii, I have successively tested all those given in the F.B.I, and found 

 them fail on specimens named hy Sir J. I). Hooker himself; the key characters in 

 Bengal Plants are also unworkable as applied to the same specimens, mauj- of 

 which have bearded nodes, and the character of spiral or subdistichous sjnkelets 

 is difficult to apply. Linmeux described Andropogon caricosus as with solitary 

 spikes, and Willdenough adds " leaves with sparse hairs and sheaths hirsute at the 

 base " (probably he refers to the node*;. 



Var. mollicomus, Haclc. 



This appears to be more distinct. A specimen collected by me from Bilaspur 

 not far from our area is a very robust plant with 2-4 broad spikes up to 3" long 

 and -15" wide with very hairy peduncles and toothed bidentate winged broad 

 glume i. The nodes are pubescent. 



2. D. annulatum, Stapf. Syn. Andropogon annulatus, Forsk. 

 Caespitose, erect or ascending from a geniculate base, 1-3 ft. high, 



nodes mostly bearded. Leaves linear, finely caudate, 3-6" long 

 •1—2" broad, glabrous or slightly hairy and often with long cilia near 

 the base, hairs often leaving small tubercle-bases. Ligule scarious 

 short or oblong, obtuse. Spikes subdigitate (spicate on a short 

 rhachis) 1-2" long, 4-20 rarely fewer on a rhachis •25--7" long. Joints 



1039 



