ORDER 156. GR AMINES. 809 



hairy Ivs. and sheaths ; branches solitary, alternate, forming a contracted panicle ; 

 spikes usually in 4s, conjugate, terminal ; gls. serrulate, longer than the hairs of 

 the pedicel ; perf. spkl. monandrous, and with a straight awn. Damp pine bar- 

 rens about Charleston (Elliott). 



7 A. scoparius Michx. BROOM GRASS. St. slender, paniculate, 3f high, branched, 

 one side furrowed, branches solitary or 2 or 3-fascicled, erect; Ivs. lance-linear, 

 somewhat hairy and glaucous ; spikes simple, lateral and terminal, on long pe- 

 duncles, 2 3 from each sheath, purple; spikelets remote, abortive one neuten 

 mostly subulate-awned, the hairs of its ped. as long as the 5 spikelet. In dry fields, 

 forming tufts, U. S. and Can. 



8 A. Halei. Culm rigid, 3 to 5f high, strict, with long, slender branches above, 

 each with a single terminal short (12 to 15",) spike; Ivs. long, rigid, rough-edged; 

 sterile spkl. $ loth gls. short-awned, ped. broad above, with stiff hairs shorter than 

 the fls. ; awn of the perfect fl. twisted. S. W. States. A coarser plant than No. 7. 



9 A. clandestina, with the soft, silky, white spikelets always concealed in a 

 fascicle of sheaths, and 



10 A. Nesii Kunth, with very slender glabrous spikelets almost concealed, are 

 found in "W. La., and possibly E. of the Miss. 



70. SOR'GHUM, L. BROOM CORN, &c. Spikelets diffusely panicu- 

 late, in 2s or 3s on the slender, spreading branches ; the middle spikelet 

 complete, 2-flowered, the lower flower abortive, lateral spikelets sterile, 

 awnless, the pedicels smooth or merely pubescent; glumes coriaceous; 

 pales membranous ; stamens 3. Stout Grasses, with solid culms. 



1 S. saccharatum L. BROOM CORN. Culm thick, solid with pith, 6 to 

 lOf; Ivs. lanceolate, acuminate, pubescent at base; pan. large diffuse, with long, 

 verticillate, at length nodding branches ; gls. of the perfect spikelet hairy, persist- 

 ent. GPThe uses of this fine, cultivated plant are well known. \ E. Ind. 



2 S. vulgare L. INDIAN MILLET. Culm erect, round, solid with pith, 6 to 

 lOf; Ivs. carinate, lanceolate; pan. compact, oval, erect until mature; gls. and 

 pales caducous; fr. naked. Rarely cultivated as a curiosity, or for the seed as 

 food for poultry. J E. Ind. 



The CHINESE SUGAR CANE, recently in cultivation here, is probably a variety of 

 this species ; also the African Millet, Imphee. Neither variety will yield a crys- 

 tallizable syrup, and cannot, therefore, rival the supremacy of the Southern Cane. 



71. CO'IX, L. JOB'S TEARS. Spikelets 2-flowered, sessile, several 

 in a spike which is involute at the base, the involucre closed around 

 the lower (fertile) spikelet, becoming bony and polished ; upper (sterile) 

 spikelets several, remote from the fertile, all awnless ; grain roundish, 

 free. Culm branched ; Ivs. broad, flat. 



C. Lacryma L. Culm half terete ; sterile fls. naked ; fr. (ossified involucre) 

 ovoid. Gardens. Plant 1 to 2f high, bushy, with lanceolate Ivs. Spikes 

 pedunculate, aggregated at the end of the sheathed branch. The curious fruit 

 is finally very hard, perforated, used by the children for beads. 



