PLATE 184. 



STEXOTAPHRUM GLABRUM, Triu. (Fl. Cap., Vol. VII., p. 438). 



CULMS ascending, prostrate or creeping and frequently rooting at the nodes 

 often very long, strongly compressed, glabrous, smooth, many-noded. 



LEAVES glabrous or more or less hairy at the mouth of the sheath or at its 

 junction with the blade, lower crowded at the base of the branches, more or less 

 flabellate, followed often by a pseudo-opposite pair of and 2-4-distant leaves 

 sheaths strongly compressed, keeled, pallid, soon thrown aside, lower persistent ; 

 ligule a fringe of very short hairs ; blades linear, obtuse, 1 to inches by 1 to 3 

 lines, first folded, then flat or at length involute, rather firm, glaucous or light 

 green, smooth ; false spikes terminal and lateral from the upper leaves, erect, stiff 

 or curved, t to 4 inches long'compressed, glabrous ; rhachis linear, entire, 1 to 2i 

 lines broad, with or without transverse depressed lines on the back indicating the 

 joints, often hollowed out in front ; branches very short, more or less sunk in the 

 hollows or adpressed to the margin of the rhachis, compressed or angular, often 

 very stout. 



w 



SPIKELETS solitary from the inner side of the base of the branch, sunk in the 

 adjoining hollow, or 2 to 5 crowded along the branch, lanceolate- oblong to oblong, 

 acute, 2jr lines long, pallid. 



GLUMES, lou-cr hyaline, very short, broad, truncate, nerveless, upper ovate- 

 oblong, concave, almost as long as the spikelet, 7-nerved, firmly membranous. 

 Florets, lower male ; valve lanceolate-oblong to oblong, acute, equalling the 

 spikelet, chartaceous, faintly 7 to 9-nerved, dorsally flattened, somewhat rough. 

 Anthers \\ to 1J line long ; upper floret perfect; valve similar to the lower, but 

 more acute, firmly membranous, 5-nerved. 



Habitat : NATAL. Durban Flat, Buchanan 16 ; without precise locality, 

 (,'i'i-rard 678; Zululand, 2000 feet alt,, January, Jeakinxoii 60 ( Wood 9059); 

 CJmsinga, Buchanan 98. Also in Cape Colony by numerous collectors. 



Drawn from Jenkinson's 60, and compared with Buchanan's 98. 



Of this genus five species only are known, the one here described is not un- 

 common near the sea coast in tropical countries, it has been described under seven 

 different names in addition to the correct one as given here, one of these names is 

 S. Amcricanum, Schrank, and in a work on North American grasses published by the 

 United States Department of Agriculture it is said of it : " This grass grows in 

 sandy soil, especially near the sea coast. It has strong creeping roots, which render 

 it capable of enduring great drought. It has been recommended in Florida as a 

 very valuable pasture grass." The specimen from which our drawing was made 

 was a rather imperfect one. 



Mr. Jenkinson says of this grass : " A running grass, used for lawns Seeds 

 eaten by natives in time of famine." 



Fig 1, Portion of rhachis with spikelets ; 2, lower glume; 3, upper glume; 4, lower 

 valve ; 5, pale ; 6, upper valve ; 7, pale. All cn' 



