166 



A TEXT-BOOK OF GRASSES 



F. Racemes solitary at the ends of the 



branches. . . HETEROPOGON. 



FF. Racemes in pairs from a sheathing 



bract, these in panicles CYMBOPOGON 



(Par. 209). 



SUBTRIBE SACCHARE^E 



Spikelets perfect, all alike. The genera here mentioned have 

 large compound inflorescences of woolly racemes. 



204. Miscanthus Anderss. Tall coarse perennials 

 with large panicles, axis of the racemes not articulated. 

 One species / M. sinensis Anderss. (Eulalia japonica Trin.) 

 (Fig. 13), a native of eastern Asia, is cultivated for orna- 

 ment. This grass grows in large bunches, with numerous 

 narrow leaves, 2 to 4 feet long, tapering to a slender point, 

 slender upright flower-stalks 4 to 6 feet high bearing a 

 fan -shaped cluster of woolly 

 spikes 6 to 12 inches long. There 

 are 3 varieties in cultivation : var. 

 variegatus, with striped leaves; 

 var. zebrinus, with banded leaves; 

 and var. gradllimus with leaves 

 much narrower than in the other 

 forms. Two other species are 

 occasionally cultivated, M. sac- 

 charifer Benth., with nearly or 

 quite awnless spikelets, and M. 

 nepalensis Hack. (Himalaya fairy- 

 grass), with spikelets one-fourth 

 as long as the brown involucral 

 hairs. 



205. SaccharumL. The best- 



FIG. 13. Miscanthus sinensis. . . , 



Plant much reduced, spikelet, known SpCClCS IS the SUgar-Cane 

 X3. (U. S. Dept. Agr.. Div. , ~ . _ x /T ,. . .\ , 



Agrost., Buii, 20.) (,S. officinarum L.) (Fig. 14), a tall 



