G71 



TOBOSA 



Hila'ria mu'tica, syn. Pleura'phis mu'tica 



Flower heads (spikes) erect, symmetrical, 

 IK to 3 in. long, Ke to % in. broad, white, straw- 

 colored or occasionally purplish, the axis 

 (rachis) somewhat zigzag and persistent 



* Individual flower groups (spikelets) upright, 

 in groups of 3's at each joint of the rachis, 

 the groups falling entire, with a conspicuous 

 tuft of short hairs at the base, of two kinds: 

 (a) the central spikelet 1-flowered, seed-pro- 

 ducing; (b) the lateral ones 2-flowered, pollen- 

 producing 



Lowest (2) lateral spikelet bracts (glumes) 

 membranous; 1st glume fan-shaped, 2d glume 

 only slightly wider at the top 



Outer flower bracts (lemmas)- 

 nerved, similar to glumes 



-papery, 3- 



Lowest (2) central spikelet bracts (glumes) 

 similar, shorter than lemma, the margins 

 fringed with fine hairs, usually divided into 2 

 irregular lobes, the nerve splitting above into 

 several bristles 



Stalks (culms) 1 to 2, sometimes 3 ft. tail, 

 smooth or often fine-hairy at the joints (nodes) ; 

 many sterile branches below 



Leaves up to 6 in. long, stiff, harsh, hairless 



Rootstocks strong, creeping, woody, scaly 

 Roots deep, fibrous 



