166 BULLETIN 772, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Perennial low grasses with creeping rhizomes, short, pungently 

 pointed blades, and terminal spikelike racemes, the spikelets on short 

 appressed pedicels. Species about five, southeastern Asia to New 

 Zealand. 



Type species: Agrostis matrella L. 



Osterdamia Neck., Elem. Bot. 3: 218. 1790. In a note appended to the para- 

 graph on Agrostis, Necker states, "Agrostis matrella Lin. species distincta, 

 agrostidis proxima, quam osterdamiam appellamus, char- 

 actere sequenti." Although Osterdamia, Agrostis, Milium, and 

 many other groups are called by Necker species of his genus 

 Achyrophyton, these so-called species are the equivalent of 

 the genera of his contemporaries and are usually so recog- 

 nized by botanical writers. 



Zoysia Willcl., Ges. Naturf. Freund. Berlin, Neue Schrift. 3: 

 440. 1801. Type and only species, Z. pun (/ens Willd. 



Matrella Pers., Syn. PI. 1: 73. 1805. Type species. Affront!* 

 juncca Lam., the only species described. 



Several years ago a species 

 of this genus was introduced 

 into the United States as a 

 lawn grass under the names 

 Korean lawn grass and Jap- 

 anese lawn grass. It AT as 

 recommended for the South- 

 ern States and was said to be 

 hardy as far north as Connecti- 

 cut. 1 The species then intro- 



FIG. 96. Nazia aliena. Plant, X I ; group of spikelets (spike) and single spikelet, X 5. 



duced appears to be Osterdamia japonica (Steud.) Hitchc. (Zoysia 

 japonica Steud.). Recently a fine-leaved species, Osterdamia tenui- 

 folia (Willd.) Kuntze, has been introduced into Florida and has 

 given favorable results. The original species, 0. matrella (L.) 

 Kuntze (fig. 97), manila grass, is common in the Philippine Islands. 



1 Scribner, U. S. Dept. Agr., Div. Agrost. Bull. 3: 95. 1896. 



