GENERA OF GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES. 243 



lU'al 1 applied the name Chamaeraphis It. Br. to American species of Chae- 

 tochloa, but that is 5111 Auslnilian gomis in which the articulation is below the 

 spikelet-bearing branches, as in Peimisetum. 



One group of this genus, section Ptychophyllum, has broad, often 

 plaited, blades and loose or open panicles, the bristles solitary and 

 at the base of only the uppermost spikelets on the short branchlets. 

 This section has usually been referred to Panicum, but shows a closer 

 relationship to Chaetochloa. Two species of this group, both per- 

 ennials, are cultivated in greenhouses or in the open in the Tropics 

 for ornament, chiefly on account of the broad plaited blades that 

 resemble those of young palms. C Jiaetochloa sulcata (Aubl.) Hitchc. 

 (Panic win sulcatuui Aubl.) has narrow, rather dense panicles, 1 to 2 

 feet long, and blades about 2 inches wide. Chaetochloa palmifolium 

 (Willd.) Hitchc. and Chase has large open panicles and broader 

 blades. This has been known in cultivation as Panicwm plicatum^ 

 but is not P. plicatwm, Lam. It is sometimes called palm-grass. 



Of the species of Chaetochloa proper 2 (Setaria Beauv.) several 

 are weeds in cultivated soil. Two annual species are common in the 

 eastern United States, where they are known as foxtail or pigeon 

 grass. Chaetochloa mridis (L.) Scribn., green foxtail, has a green, 

 somewhat pointed head, with untwisted blades. Chaetochloa lutes- 

 cens (Weigel) Stuntz (Setaria glauca of most authors, not Panicum 

 glaucuni L.) (fig. 148), yellow foxtail, has cylindric yellow obtuse 

 heads and blades twisted in a half spiral so that toward the end the 

 upper surface is beneath. 



Another annual species common in waste ^places is Chaetochloa 

 verticillata (L.) Scribn., in which the bristles are backwardly rough- 

 ened, the heads thus sticking readily to clothing. Chaetochloa geni- 

 culata (Lam.) Millsp. and Chase is a perennial species resembling 

 yellow foxtail. This is common in the Southern States and through- 

 out the Tropics. Chaetochloa magna (Griseb.) Scribn., a robust 

 annual as much as 9 feet high, with a dense panicle or head as much 

 as a foot long and 2 inches in diameter, is found in marshes from 

 Maryland to the West Indies. 



Chaetochloa macrostachya (H. B. K.) Scribn. and Merr. (here- 

 tofore commonly confused with the South American C. composita 

 (H. B. K.) Scribn.), is of some importance as a range grass from 

 Texas to Arizona. It is a pale perennial, with somewhat pointed 

 spikelike panicles. The two annuals, C. viridis and C. lutescens, are 

 often sufficiently abundant to furnish considerable forage. 



The most important species of the genus is Chaetochloa italica (L.) 

 Scribn. (Setaria italica Beauv.). This is called millet, or, to dis- 

 tinguish it from other kinds of millet, foxtail millet. Millet is an 



1 Grasses N. Amer. 2: 150. 1896. 



2 The genus was revised by Scribner and Merrill, U. S. Dept. Agr., Div. Agrost. Bull. 

 21. 1900. 



