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17, Cynodon transvaalensis, Burit-Davy {[Gramineae-Chlori- 
deae]; species bene distincta, a C. Dactylone, Pers, habitu 
teneriore flaccidiore densiore caespitoso, colore viridi nec glauco, 
spicis. binatis brevioribus ad basim nudis, glumis brevioribus 
rie gig acuminatis, et valva dorso minus ciliata, imprimis 
iffert. 
Herba perennis, repens, densissime caespitosa. Culmi tenu- 
issimi, Jolia brevia, viridia (nec glauca), flaccida, acutissima nec 
pungentia, sparse pilosa, ad os vaginae barbata, 1-2-5 em. longa 
vel longiora, ad 1:5 mm. lata, vaginibus saepe purpurascentibus 
glabrisque. Pedunculi tenuissimi. Spicae digitatae, binatae, 
1-2 cm. longae, ad basim nudae. Spiculae 2-5 mm. longae; 
rhachilla prolongata, tenuis. Glumae subaequales, 1 mm. longae, 
carina glabra. Valva ad apicem sparse ciliata vel glabra. 
outH Arrica. Transvaal: Vereeniging Distr.; Burttholm 
(Uitgevallen 197), Burtt-Davy 18156 (type) in herb. Kew. ; Ermelo 
Distr., Lake Chrissie, Burtt-Davy ; Witwatersrand Distr., Germis- 
ton, Burtt-Davy, and elsewhere along the Reef. Usually growing 
in moist, open places subject to flooding in the rainy season, on 
the margins of pans and dams. 
A strikingly distinct species, which I named provisionally 
some years ago, but did not publish as it was desirable to 
compare it with authentic material of C. pascuus, Nees; this has 
now been done and my plant proves to be quite different from 
the latter, which appears to be only a form of C. Dactylon, Pers. 
_ I have had C. transvaalensis under cultivation for many years, 
under precisely similar conditions of soil, moisture, exposure, etc., 
and alongside of, both C. Dactylon, Pers., and C. incompletus, 
Nees; it retains its characters without showing any tendency to 
vary in the direction of either species. Transplanted from the 
damp sandy soil of a dam margin to a harder and drier soil, it 
also retains its: characters. The distachyous inflorescence is 
found in luxuriant forms, as well as in those less well-grown, and 
is therefore not attributable to starvation nor to xerophytic 
conditions, as is the case with starved forms of C. Dactylon, 
Pers. (e.g. m Uitenhage, Zeyher 446, Claremont Flats, 
Schlechter 151, and Somerset East, MacOwan 2119 all in herb. 
Mus. Brit.). In habit and foliage C. transvaalensis is not unlike 
the Australian C. tenellus, R. Br., but differs in the inflorescence. 
Two Australian specimens of C. Dactylon, Pers. at Kew (from 
“Murray,” F. von Mueller and “ Victoria,” Robertson 581) bear 
some resemblance to C. transvaalensis, but differ in: the more 
robust habit, more hairy sheaths, apparently more rigid leaves, 
spikelets more imbricate and clothing the spikes to the base, 
longer glumes, and more ciliate valves. The first cited bore the 
MSS. name C. Dactylon B distachyus, F. v. Mueller. eo 
Owing to its rapidly spreading, compact, dense habit of 
growth and soft springy nature, Cynodon tra sis is 
excellent for lawns, bowling greens, etc., for which purposes it 1s 
now the principal grass used in the Transvaal, under the names 
