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^ 



Spikelets perfect, all ahke. 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. Sacchanim L. — The best- 

 known species is the sugar-cane 

 (S. officinarum L.) (Fig. 14), a tall 



I 



Fig. 13. Miscanthus sinensis, 

 Plant much reduced, spikelet, 



X3. (U. S. Dept. Agr. 

 Agrost., Bull. 20.) 



Div. 



