177 



Fig. 171. CYNODON DACTYLON (Linn.) Pens. Syn. 1: ,s5. 1805. {Panicum 

 dnctylon Linn. Sp. PI. 85. 1753; Capriola dactylon Kuntze, Rev. Gen. Pi. 2 : 764. 

 1891.) BERMUDA GRASS.— A creeping perennial, with upriglit or ascending 

 leafy flowering branches 1-6 dm. ( \°-2°) high. Sheaths glabrous or somewhat 

 hairy, crowded at the base of the culms and along the stolons; ligule pilose; 

 leaf-blades plane 2.5-5 cm. (l'-2') long, 1-2 mm. {k"-V') wide. Spikelets («) 2 mm.' 

 (1") long: empty glumes hispid on the keel, about two-thirds as long as the 

 flowering glume (6), which is boat-shaped and usually ciliate on the keel; h' is 

 the prolongation of the rachilla.— Widely dispersed over the tropical and 

 warmer temperate regions of the world, in the United States from Pennsyl- 

 vania southward to Florida and westward to Texas and California. Aprif to 

 October. 



This species is one of the most valuable forage grasses for the South and is 

 widely cultivated. It grows freely on poor or sandy soil where other grasses 

 will not thrive and resists extreme drought and high temperatures. It is also 

 useful for binding drifting sands and for holding embankments subject to 

 wash. It makes a pleasing lawn grass and is extensively cultivated for this 

 purpose in the South and Southwest. 

 20801— No. 7 12 



