13'J. GllAMINEM. [79. Therieda. 



ai)pressed hairs but lower hairs usually deciduous (sometimes leaving 

 microscopic dots) and then only tip hispidulous as in imberbis. 

 Pedicelled spkts. Avith gl. i narrowly linear but flat (it usually remains 

 convolute in imberbis). 



Commonest on laterite and on cotton-soil but not nearly so abundant as in the 

 Central Provinces where it frequently takes possession of whole acres of cotton 

 soil. Santal Paror.. Gamble, etc! ' Gya, Mokiml Ranchi, very common at 

 Neterhat on laterite! Palamau, frequent! Singbhum, not very common! 

 Manbhum ! Augul to Sambalpur, frequent! Fl, Oct.-Dec. and sometimes up to 

 May. Annual. 



The In-act-leaf subtends a shortly peduncled spatheole or branchlet ; in their axil 

 each of the spatheole-peduucles in turn is subtended by a sessile hyaline bract 

 and contains in the axil the next youno-er spatheole without evident internodes. 

 Some of the peduncles are subtended 1)y two hyaline bracts, the last spatheole in 

 the axil of the previous .spatheole-peduncle and its bract is the youngest. 



In one form among bushes the stem is weak and clambering. 



3. T. laxa, Stajif (in Kew Herb.). 8yn. Anthistiria laxa, Anders. ; 



Tatian, Vern. 



A very distinct species in the field, being a tufted slender much 

 branched and feathery grass 2-4 ft. high, feathery from the very 

 numerous short soft narrowly linear leaves, and with many lax leafy 

 panicles of sub-solitary or few (3-4) small heads one over the other in 

 verticilliform clu.sters on the filiform branches. Lower leaves on 

 main stem up to 12", upper 2-4" by -1" ending in a filiform tip, with 

 iew long white soft hairs near the' base, sheaths compressed striate, 

 keeled. Heads about -5" diam. Spikelets of involucre •2--25", 

 often reddish, with green glabrous callus ; gl. i narrowly oblong, tip 

 almost spinidosely acute, nerves 9-11, distinct, back with scattered 

 tubercles each with a long white hair, chiefly in upper half and some- 

 times very few. Central spike with one sessile spkt. -18" long (includ- 

 ing the bearded callus) and 2 pedicelled spkts. -2—25" lono: tapering 

 at base into the short (•04--05") pedicels. Upper fourth of gl. i of 

 sess. spkt. closely scabrid-hispid. 



This common Central Provinces grass (C. P. Luf, p. 264) barely enters our ai-ea 

 in its gregarious state but isolated specimens occur in Sambalpur! Porahat 

 division (Singbhum) ! Fl. Oct.-Nov. Fr. Dec, when the clusters usually turn 

 red. 



Ligule 0. Spatheole long-acuminate, very narrowly cymbiform, 1 -Po", 

 hispid-scabrid on margins. Invol. spkt. gl. ii "22" with a fine median nerve and 

 2-3 nerves in each margin, margins narrowly inflexed, cihate; iii as long, hyaline, 

 lodicules cuneate, micro-ciliate on the truncate end ; iv aj^parently^ sometinies 

 present (or a minute palea) and sometimes a rudimentary ovary. Sessile spkt. 

 gl. i truncate, obscurely 9-nerved ; ii narrow, longer, with incurved margins and 

 rounded keel which receives the awn of iv ; iii hyaline, linear, rather shorter than 

 i (al)out •12") ; iv reduced to hyaline base of nearly smooth awn r2-l-5" long; 

 lodicules very large, •03--0J:" long, oblongobcuneate. Ovary linear-oblong. Ped. 

 si)kt. very narrow, very sharply acute, gl. i many-nerved, ii scaberulous ou keel, 

 uiiirgins ciliate inflexecl. 



The grass is a very poor fodder. 



4. T. strigosa, comb. nov. 8yn. Anthistiria strigosa. Ham. {F.B.I.). 

 A leafy grass about 4 ft. high with compressed and keeled glabrous 



polished leaf -sheaths, leaves -1— 17" wide with scabrid margins, ligide 

 under -05". Panicle very compound with long slender upright 

 branches, 2-3 branches from a leaf axil leafless for 1-3", then with a 

 leaf-bract bearing 2-several spatheoles and often a further slender 



1051 



