418 GKAMINE^E. [Hemarthria. 



culate. Lowest empty glume keeled, rigid, several-nerved ; the second similar 

 but more pointed in the pedicellate flower, thinner and half-transparent in the 

 sessile one, and more or less cohering to the concave pedicel of the other ; 

 the third empty glume, flowering glume, and palea, all very thin and trans- 

 parent. 



A small genus, widely spread over the warmer regions of the globe. 



1. H. fasciculata, Kunth, JEnum. i. 465. Stems creeping and root- 

 ing at the base, ascending to 1 or 1^ ft., more or less compressed and some- 

 times branched. Leaves narrow. Spikes 2 to 2^ in. long, slightly compressed, 

 all axillary ; the peduncles not longer than the sheaths, and bearing 2 or 3 

 sheathing bracts. Outer glumes about 2 lines long, acute or with short points, 

 green and striate. 



Hongkong, Hance. Widely distributed over Asia and the Mediterranean region. 



15. PEROTIS, Ait. 



Spikelets 1 -flowered in a simple spike-like raceme. Outer empty glumes 

 2, linear, stiff, with terminal awns. Flowering glume and palea very small, 

 thin, and transparent. Grain longer than the flowering glume, enclosed in 

 the two outer ones. 



Besides the following, the genus comprises one other Australian species. 



1. P. latifolia, Ait.; Kunth, JEnum. i. 470. Stems decumbent and 

 branched at the base, ascending to 1 ft. or more. Leaves flat, rather broad, 

 from £ in. to near 1 in. long. Racemes pedunculate, usually 2 to 4 in. long. 

 Spikelets rather crowded, spreading, on very short pedicels, each spikelet near 

 2 lines long, with awns of £ in. in most of the Chinese specimens, much 

 shorter with shorter awns in other varieties. — P. patula, Nees, and P. longi- 

 flora, Nees in Steud. Syn. Gram. 186 (the long-flowered variety). P. hordei- 

 formis, Nees, and P. glabrata, Steud. 1. c. (the shorter-flowered variety). 



Hongkong, Wright. Widely diffused over tropical and subtropical Asia and Africa, ex- 

 tending northward to Japan, and southward to S.E. Africa. 



16. ZOYSIA, Willd. 



Spikelets 1 -flowered, awnless, nearly sessile in a simple spike, the axis not 

 articulate. Outer empty glume 1, keeled, stiff, shortly pointed, the edges 

 often united below round the flower. Flowering glume much shorter, thin 

 and transparent. Palea very small or none. Grain free but enclosed in the 

 outer glume. 



A genus limited to a single species. 



1. Z. pungens, Willd.; Kunth, Mum. i. 471. Stems creeping or diffuse, 

 and shortly ascending. Leaves narrow and very pointed, sometimes pungent, 

 varying from | to 2 in. long in different specimens. Spikes pedunculate, 

 about 1 in. long. Spikelets erect, full 2 lines long in the Chinese specimens, 

 scarcely more than 1 line in many others. Outer glume smooth, except the 

 keel, and almost cartilaginous, usually ending in a short point. — Z. tenuifolia, 

 Willd., and Z. japonica, Steud. Syn. Gram. 414. Z. aristata, Z. Brownei, 

 Z. Griffithiana, and Z. sedoides, C. Mull, in Bot Zeit. 1855, 272 to 274. 



Hongkong, Hance. Common in maritime sands in tropical and subtropical eastern Asia 

 and Australia, extending northward to Japan. 



