CHLORIDES 257 



36. Chloris, Sw 



These are annual or perennial grasses. Spikes are solitary or 

 many in terminal umbels or short racemes, erect or spreading. 

 Spikelets are unilateral, sessile, crowded, biseriate on a slender 

 rachis with four to six glumes and I to 3-flowered ; the rachilla is 

 produced and disarticulating above the empty glumes. The first 

 two glumes are unequal, narrow, keeled, membranous, T-nerved, 

 persistent, acute, mucronate and the second glume awned shortly. 

 Floral glumes narrow or broad, acute, obtuse or minutely 2-toothed 

 and awned, paleate ; sterile glumes are small, without palea. 

 There are two lodicules and anthers are rather small. Grain is 

 narrow and free. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



Spikelets i-fiowered. 

 Perennial. 

 Rachilla produced beyond the flowering glumes and bear- 

 ing awns with rudimentary glumes. 

 Spikes 4 to 10, long, whorled ; spikelets] 



narrow fusiform; glume III oblong > 1. C. incompleta. 

 lanceolate. J 



Rachilla produced beyond the flowering glume and bearing 

 I to 3 reduced glumes. 

 Spikes free at the base, digitate. 



Spikes 6 to 9; spikelets 2-awned \\ 



glume III ovate, bearded with long - 3. C. virgata. 

 hairs above the middle. J 



Spikes 4 to 20 ; spikelets 3-awned;^ 

 glume III broadly ovate, densely \ r 

 bearded dorsally and on the mar- j 4* barbata. 

 gins above the middle. J 



Spikes connate at the base, erect and not spreading. 

 Spikes 2 to 6 ; spikelets narrow 4-^ 



awned , glume III ovate-lanceo- ',6. C. montana. 

 late, bearded only 

 and not at the back. 



late, bearded only on the margins i 



Annual. 



Spike solitary, spikelets broadly cunei-^ 



form, 3-awned, glume III broadly cun- \ 2. C. tenella. 

 eate, upper margins naked and keel ( 

 villous. J 



Spikelets I- to 3-flowered. 

 Perennial. 



Spikes 5 — 9, spikelets broadly cuneate 3 to) 

 5-awned, glume III bearded all through > 5. C. Bournei. 

 the margin and dorsally, J 



33 



