2^0 



SOUTH INDIAN GRASSES 



Cynodon dactylon, Pers. 



This is a perennial grass with creeping branches and also with 

 numerous deeply penetrating underground stems covered with 

 white scale-leaves. Stems are prostrate, widely creeping and 

 rooting at the nodes and forming matted tufts with slender, erect 

 or ascending flowering branches, 3 to 12 inches high. 



The leaf-sheath is somewhat tight, glabrous, membranous at the 

 mouth which is villous. The ligule is a fine ciliate rim. 



The leaf-Made is soft, narrowly linear, finely acute, acuminate 

 or pungent, somewhat glaucous, conspicuously distichous at the 

 base of the stem and, in non-flowering branches, scabrid along the 

 margins. 



The inflorescence consists of two to eight smooth, digitate, green 

 or purplish spikes, I to 3 inches long; rachis is slender, compressed 

 or angular, scaberulous. 



Spikelcts are laterally compressed, sessile, imbricate, arranged 

 alternately in two series along one side of the rachis; rachilla 



Fig. 191. — Cynodon dactylon. 



I. A portion of spike, front view ; 2. back view of a bit of spike ; 3. spikelet ; 4. 

 first glume ; 5. second glume ; 6. third glume ; 7. palea of third glume and rachilla ; 

 8. lodicules, ovary and anthers ; 9. hairs on the margin and keel of third glume. 



produced beyond the first two glumes and hidden at the back of 

 the palea between the two keels, small, slender and blunt when old 

 and with a membranous imperfect glume when young, less than 

 half the length of the spikelet. There are three glumes. The first 

 and second glumes are shorter than the third, empt}^, ovate-lanceolate, 

 acute, membranous with one thick green nerve in the middle, 

 keeled, upper margin and keel scaberulous. The second glume is 

 usually a little longer than the first, but occasionally also slightly 

 shorter than the first. The third glume is longer than both the first 

 and second glumes, obliquely oblong to ovate, subacute, membran- 

 ous, boat-shaped, smooth, keeled, 3-nerved, one central along the 

 keel and two marginal, keel scabrid below with stiff pointed hairs 

 above, tip and lower margins scabrid or pilose, palea linear oblong, 

 a little less than the third glume, obtuse, 2-nerved and with two 

 scabrid keels. Stamens are three with pale purple anthers. 

 Lodicules are two. Stigmas are purplish. Grain is oblong, slightly 

 flattened, dorsally rounded, dull reddish-brown. 



This is the common Hariali grass. It is also called " Devil's 

 grass." 



Dislr/hution.—h is cosmopolitan. 



