476 POACE.E. 



f erred ; some species have been variously referred to Festuca, Briza, 

 Dadylis, Ehusine, or Lejjtochloa ; some have been proposed as 

 genera. Bentham proposed the following sections : 



1. Cataclastos Doell., — those with short spikelets with few 

 flowers and fragile rachilla. 



2. Plagiostacliya, — the inflorescence approaching that of Chlori- 

 deae. 



3. Myriostachya, — a complicated inflorescence. 



4. Peteroessa Doell. , or Eragrostis proper, — many-flowered spike- 

 lets, with the rachilla continuous or rarely articulate when old, 

 floral glumes usually deciduous, leaving the palea persistent. Spe- 

 cies numerous and may be subdivided into three subsections : 



a. Cylindrostachyce, — narrow almost terete spikelets. 



b. LeptosiacliycB, — with narrow-linear flat spikelets. 



c. Meyastachym, — broad-linear or oblong flat spikelets. 



5. Platystachya, — broad, fiat, many-flowered spikelets with 

 rather paleaceous glumes, and the rachilla ^^articulate as in Cata- 

 clastos. 



6. Sderostadiya, — paleaceous glumes and aCrticulate rachilla, as 

 those of Platystachya; but the spikelets are not so broad and the 

 rigid leaves are long and rushlike or short and pungent. 



A. A prostrate, creeping annual 1 



B. Erect or spreading annuals, panicle spikelike (a) 



a. Spikelets 10-50-flowered 2 



a. Spikelets 4-7-flowered 3 



C. Diffuse annuals, not creeping, floral glume 1 mm. long, (b) 



b. Panicle spikelike, spikelets 5-10-flowered 4 



b. Panicle spreading, spikelets 2-5-flowered 5 



D. Diffuse annuals, floral glume 2.7-2.8 mm. long, panicle 

 spikelike, spikelets 4-24-flowered. 6 



E. Diffuse annuals, panicle not spikelike, floral glume usual- 

 ly 1-1.5 mm. long (c) 



c. Spikelets 2-5-flowered, floral glume 1.2-1.4 mm. long. 7 

 c. Spikelets 2-10-flowered. floral glume 1-1.2 mm. long. 8 

 c. Spikelets 2-4-flowered, floral glume 1 .2-1.5 ram. long. 9 

 c. Spikelets 2-20-flowered, floral glume 1.5 mm. long. . 10 



