225 



Stiff rutesce n t , many-noded ; branches spreading, recurved or 



ascending, glabrous, terete, hard ; internodes of the flowering 



branches more or less exserted, not glaucous, those of the main 



culms up to 2-5 cm., of the branches 1-1-5 cm. long. Leaves 



glabrous, sheaths persistent, terete, tight, firm, smooth, finely 



striate in the upper part ; ligule a minute, membranous rim ; 



blades attenuated from the slightly rounded base (1-12 mm. wide) 



into a fine point 1-2 cm. long, subglaucous, firm, smooth, primary 



nerves about 5, alternating with much fiuer solitary or paired 



secondary ones. Peduncles slender, up to 3 cm. long, shortly 



exserted from the almost bladeless uppermost sheath, with a 



tuft of hairs at the apex. Racemes paired, solitary one sessile, 



the other on a slender peduncle (3-5 mm. long), subparallel, 



silky, 1-2 cm. long ; joints 3-5, slender, slightly wider upwards, 



a mm. long, hairy along the edges only, hairs white, lower very 



short uppermost as long as the joint ; pedicels like the joints. 



Sessile spikclets lanceolate, acute, 5 mm. long, pale ; glumu 



glabrous, lower papery, very smooth and shining on the back, 



sliallowly channelled along the middle, keels scaberulous upwards, 



rounded and smooth below, each with 3 fine, close nerves ; upper 



glume as long as the lower, boat-shaped, acute, faintly 3-nerved, 



cihate ; lower valve lanceolate, acute, hyaline, very faintly 



3-nerved, ciliate ; dipper valve lanceolate, deeply bifid, 3'5 mm. 



Jong, 1-nerved, awn about 8 mm. long, very fine, kneed at or 



below the middle, glabrous ; palea oblong, truncate, 0*75 mm. 



long; anthers 2 mm. long. Pedicelled spikelds barren or male, 



lanceolate, acute, 5 mm. long, glabrous ; lower glume 7-9-nerved, 



upper 3-nerved, subhyaline; valves hyaline, 1-nerved, 3 mm. long. 



Socotra.— Bent. 



Panicum (§ Eupanicum) Appletonii, Stapf, sp. nov. ; affinis 



r.rigiao, Balf., Socotrensi, sed foliis glabris, rigid ioribus, pani- 

 cula parva brevissima, spiculis submajoribus, glumis valvisque 

 nrmionbus nervis minus distinctis necnon toto habitu multo 

 robustiore differt. 



Perennial, quite glabrous ; rhizome short, emitting numerous, 

 long, fibrilliform roots and tufts of erect shoots and creeping or 

 ascending stolons. Shoots and stolons branching (often copiously) 

 when reaching the surface, forming dense, intricate tufts from a 

 few to 10 cm. high, or some of them much stouter, elongated, 

 prostrate, sending out short branches from the nodes ; under- 

 ground parts covered with persistent sheaths, overground branches 

 fascicled, slender, many-noded, closely sheathed. Sheaths terete, 

 smooth, those of the underground parts or prostrate branches 

 up to 3*5 cm. long and the lowest bladeless, of the short 

 branches above the ground under 1 cm. long and slender; ligule 

 a fringe of minute stiff hairs ; blades firm, linear-lanceolate to 

 sublinear, tapering almost from the base, those of the long shoots 

 up to 5 cm. by 4 mm. (when flattened out), of the short shoots 

 from less than 1 to 3 cm. long, tightly involute, needle-shaped, 

 stiff, spreading, crowded, all rather blunt, finely striate. Panicle 

 scarcely exceeding the uppermost leaves, 1 cm. long ; branches 

 finely filiform, rigid, up to 7 mm. long ; pedicels very short to 

 2 mm. long, tips slightly thickened. Sjnkelets ovoid, subacute, 

 almost 2 mm. long. Glumes broad-ovate, subobtuse, lower almost 



