No. 24. 

 TRICHLORIS PLURFLORA Fourn. 



Plant rather coarse, somewhat glaucous throughout or purplish in the inflor- 

 escence. 



Culms few, from loosely tufted, slightly bulbous base, erect, solid, terete, 

 smooth, rarely branching, 2 to 3 feet tall. 



Leaves; radical and from sterile culms, numerous, with loose sheaths, and flat, 

 taper-pointed blades, 3 to 4 lines wide and 8 to 10 inches long, scabrous above and 

 below, with scattered hairs, near the ligule; of stem 5 to 7; sheath equaling or 

 exceeding interuode, loose and open above, smooth; blade like that of the radical 

 leaves; ligule a row of rusty, fine hairs i line long. 



Inflorescence an obovate panicle of 10 to 15 slightly spreading, narrow, sessile 

 approximate spikes, scattered one or two in a place along the short rachis. Spikes 

 unilateral, rachis hispid, 2 to 4 inches long. 



Spikelets nearly sessile, with 3 or 4 flowers, the upper ones sterile; first glume 

 narrowly-lanceolate, terminating in an awn-like point, hyaline, about 1 line long; 

 second glume larger, l to 2 lines long; floral glumes narrowly-lanceolate, scabrous, 

 ciliate 011 the margins, 1-nerved, 2 lines long, terminating in 3 hispid awns, middle 

 one 4 lines and lateral ones about 1 line long; palet lanceolate, acute, 2-nerved, 

 hyaline margins infolded; upper sterile glumes same as floral glumes but smaller 

 and lateral awns sometimes minute. 



Grain yellow, narrowly triangular, line long. 



PLATE XXIV; a, spikelet; b, floral glume: c, palet; d, empty glumes. 

 Texas to Mexico. 



