GRAMINE^, (GRASS FAMILY^.) 



889 



Fig. 411. 



along the scarcely thickened axis ; lower pale coriaceous, linear, invo- 

 lute, scarcely keeled, tapering into an awn-UTce wwcr(?— Spring — 

 Sands; et-Tih, near southern borders of Palestine; Palmyra. 



77. NARDURUS, Rchb. Nardurus. 

 Spikelets subsessile, or with short, thick pedicels, compressed, 

 solitary and alternate, lying obliquely in excavations of the rachis, 

 several-flowered, the flowerets diverging. Glumes equal or unequal. 

 Lower pale concave, not keeled, lanceolate, muticous or awned ; upper 

 pale 2-toothed, 2-keeled, scabrous at keels — Tufted annuals ; spikelets 

 in a simple spike ; leaves narrow-linear, convolute. 



1. N. teiiuiflorns, Schrad. .1 to .3. Spike .05 

 to .14 long, .005 broad, erect or incurved, 2-ranked or 

 one-sided, interrupted; pedicels very short; spikelets 5- 

 6-flowered; glumes lanceolate-linear, keeled, acuminate, 

 the lower shorter, 1-nerved, the upper 3-nerved, half 

 as long as spikelet, a little shorter than the adjacent 

 floiceret ; lower pale linear-lanceolate, acuminate, ending 

 in a mucro or extended into an awn as long as or longer than 

 itself — April — Sandy and grassy places; Damascus to 

 Palmyra, Aleppo, Aintab, and northward, and eastward; 

 Lebanon near Afqa. 



2. ;\. Orientalis, Boiss. .1. Uppermost leaf 

 forming a spathe-like sheath to the spike. Spike .03 to 

 .05 long, .004 broad, 2-ranked; spikelets sessile, 3-5- 

 flowered; glumes indurated, lanceolate-linear, acuminate, 

 nearly equal, rounded at back, scabrous, longer than 

 fisicerets ; lower pale elliptical, acute, muticous or short- 

 awned a little leloio tip — April — Antilebanon ; Damascus ; 

 Aleppo ; Syrian Desert. 



7§. CATAPODIUM, Link. Catapodium. 



Spikelets ovate-oblong, rarely oblong-lanceolate, nearly sessile, 

 lying edgewise in excavations of the rachis, several-flowered, compres- 

 sed laterally. Glumes somewhat coriaceous, shorter than lowest 

 floweret. Lower pale many-nerved, somewhat coriaceous, concave, 

 obtuse, muticous; upper 2-keeled, 2-toothed, the keels ciliate — An- 

 nual herbs, with spikelets in a simple or branched spike. Doubtfully 

 distinguished from Nardurus. 



1. C. loliaceum, Huds. © .3 to .6, decumbent or prostrate, 

 branching below, thickish, leafy. Leaves linear, flat, acute. Spike 

 simple or branching below, stiff, one-sided, 2-ranked ; spikelets erect, 

 oblong, .015 to .02 long, .004 broad, 7-19-flowered; lower pale ellipti- 

 cal-lanceolate, obtuse, glabrous, somewhat scarious at itp — Spring — 

 Sands ; Syrian coast. 



2. C. tal)erculo§um, Moris. .4 to 1, erect. Leaves linear, 

 .005 to .006 broad, strongly nerved, flexuous. Panicle rigid, simple, 

 or with a few, simple and distant branches; branches and terminal spike 

 .05 to .07 long, with 2-ranked spikelets on very short, thick pedicels; 

 spikelets oblong-lenticular, .007 to .012 long, ,002 to .003 broad, 6-15- 

 flowered, erect ; lower pale oblong-lanceolate, obtuse, muticous, promi- 

 nently 5-nerved, leset with tubercles — April — Jericho. 



115 



Spike of Nardu- 

 rus Orientalis. 



