CHLORIDE/E 



259 



Chloris tenella, Roxb. 



This grass is a very slender annual with weak stems, branched 

 from the base, 10 to 18 inches long. 



The lea/sheath is glabrous, compressed and keeled. The ligule 

 is a truncate membrane. The nodes are glabrous. 



The leaf-blade is linear to linear-lanceolate, flaccid, finely 

 acuminate with the margin more or less ciliate towards the base, 3 

 to 8 inches long and /^ to % inch wide. 



The spikes are solitary, erect. I to 2 l /z inches long. 



The spikelets are large about % inch long cuneate and hilarious. 

 There are usually five to six glumes (and rarely up to eight). The first 

 glume is ovate-lanceolate, acute and hyaline, I-nerved. The secoud 

 glume is a little longer and broader than the first glume, I-nerved 



Fig. 197.— Chloris tenella. 



I. A portion of the spike ; 2. a spikelet ; 3,4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. the glumes in 

 regular order beginning with the first; 5a, 6a, 7a, 8a and 9b. are the palea of the third, 

 fourth, fifth, sixth and the seventh glumes, respectively ; 5b. grain. 



and this midnerve produced into a very short awn. The third glume 

 is as long as the second or longer, coriaceous, obovate and truncate 

 at the top, 3-nerved and the marginal nerves distant from the 

 margin, keel and the lateral nerves villous to about three-fourths 

 their length, scabrid at the apex close to the truncate margin, 

 paleate ; palea is elliptic, with ciliate margins, callus is densely 

 villous. The fourth glume is nearly half or a little more than half of 

 the third glume, narrower, paleate ; palea is elliptic. The succeed- 

 ing glumes fifth to the eighth are similar to the fourth in shape but 

 they get smaller and smaller and the last glume is epaleate. The 

 third glume is usually grain bearing, but rarely the fourth also 

 may contain a grain, the remaining glumes being sterile. Grain is 

 oblong, lenticular, brownish. 



This grass is widely spread in the Ceded districts and appears 

 to be a good fodder grass. 



Distribution. — Southern India, Rajputana, Scind and Khandeish. 



