ANNUAL FORAGE GRASSES 



121 



Description. An erect annual with 

 flat blades, erect or often nodding 

 spikelike panicles or "heads." The 

 spikelets are in close clusters on the 

 short branches of the panicle, inter- 

 spersed with rough green, yellow, 

 brown or purple bristles which usu- 

 ally exceed them in length. The 

 spikelet itself consists of three bracts 

 (2 glumes and a steiile lemma) inside 

 of which is the fertile floret consist- 

 ing of a hardened lemma and palea. 

 At maturity, the ripened floret or 

 fruit shells out of the spikelet and 

 forms what is commonly called the 

 seed. This varies in color in the 

 different varieties from pale yellow 

 to red brown or nearly black. 



Botanical Names. Chaetochloa ital- 

 ica (L.) Scribn. Millet was first de- 

 scribed by Linnaeus under the genus 

 Panicum as P. italicum L. Later this 

 and allied species were separated as a 

 distinct genus under the name Setaria, 

 this species becoming S. italica Beauv. 

 As the name Setaria had been previ- 

 ously applied to a genus of lichens, 

 the name of the millet genus was 

 changed by Scribner to Chattochloa. 

 Many botanists still use the name Se- 

 taria. Both names refer to the bris- 



26. German Mil- 

 let. A single seed 

 head. 



