168 



SOUTH INDIAN GRASSES 



Lophopogon tridentatus, Hack. 



This is a small annual grass with slender, tufted, erect stems 

 varying in height from 4 to 12 inches. 



Leaf-sheaths are glabrous or with scattered hairs. The ligule is 

 a fringe of close-set long hairs. Nodes are covered with long hairs 

 below, but nodes nearer the inflorescence are glabrous. 



Leaf-blades are very finely linear, acuminate, rigid, erect, glabrous 

 below, with long hairs on the upper surface to about quarter 

 the length of the blade and densely hairy near the mouth, and 

 varying in length from 2 to 6 inches. 



The inflorescence consists of usually two closely appressed 

 spikes, though appearing as one, V 2 to V\ inch long, pilose with 

 ferrugineous hairs ; the peduncle is capillary and enclosed by the 

 upper leaf-sheath. 



Fig. 141. — Lophopogon iridentatus. 



1. Awnless lower spikelet ; 2. a lower sessile and an upper pedicelled spikelet ; 

 3. the first glume of an awnless lower spikelet: 4. the first glume of a lower spikelet 

 that is awned 3 5. the first glume of the upper or pedicelled spikelets ; 6, 7 and 9. the 

 second, third and the fourth glume, respectively, of the upper pedicelled spikelets ; 8 

 and 10. palea of the third and the fourth glumes ; II. ovary and anthers. 



The spikelets are densely imbricate, binate at each joint, the 

 upper being shortly pedicelled and the lower sessile or subsessile. 

 The lower spikelets are 1/5 inch long with a tuft of brownish hairs 

 at the tip of the callus. The lower spikelets at the very base of 

 the inflorescence are awnless and contain only two male flowers, 

 whereas those above in the inflorescence are awned and contain 

 one male flower and one hermaphrodite or female flower. 



There are four glumes in the spikelet. The first glume in the 

 awnless spikelets is coriaceous, oblong , cuneate, very sparsely 

 hairy or glabrous, shorter than the second glume, 7-nerved, 

 5-toothed at the apex, two teeth being broader and shorter and 

 three sharper and longer. The second glume is longer than the 

 first, 1/5 inch long, subchartaceous, lanceolate, 3-nerved, 2-fid at 

 the tip and awned or aristate, margin hyaline and with long 



