ANDROPOGONE/E 



191 



Andropogon pertnsus, Willd. 



This grass is perennial. Stems are tufted, very slender, widely 

 creeping on all sides, purplish, but the flowering branches are erect 

 or ascending from a geniculate base, leafy at base, the nodes of 

 the creeping branches rooting and bearing tufts of branches which 

 finally become independent plants at each node, the creeping 

 branches vary in length from I to 3 feet and the erect ones from 

 10 to 18 inches or more. 



The leaf-sheaths are terete or somewhat compressed, glabrous, 

 sometimes ciliated near the node and shorter than the internode. 

 The ligule is a truncate membrane, slightly ciliate or not. Nodes 

 are bearded. 



The leaf-blade in the prostrate branches are crowded, short 

 linear-lanceolate, finely acuminate, soft, shortly hairy along the 

 nerves, sparsely ciliate near the rounded base, varying in length 

 from I to 2 inches and in breadth % to X A inch ; but on the 

 flowering branches the leaves are longer, sometimes as long as 

 twelve inches with bigger sheaths. 



Fig. 153- Andropogon pertnsus. 



1. A portion of a spike; 2. a pair of spikelets ; a. sessile and b. nedicelled ; 

 a- 1, first glume ; a-2. second glume : a-3. third glume ; a-4. fourth glume and awn ; 

 a-5. ovarv and stamens ; a-6. grain ; b-I. fust glume of pedicelled spikelet front and 

 back; V) 2. second glume front and back ; b-3. third glume. 



The inflorescence consists of three to nine, slender, flexuous, erect, 

 purplish spikes, 1 to 2 inches long alternately arranged on 

 a thin, long slender, smooth peduncle of about six inches ; rachis is 

 slender and the joints and pedicels are densely silky with long 

 hairs. 



The spikelets are in pairs, one sessile and one-pedicelled, both are 

 equal, purplish or pale. The sessile spikclct consists of four glumes 



