﻿1903] BRIEFER ARTICLES 215 



NOTES ON NORTH AMERICAN GRASSES. 



I. ANDROPOGON DIVARICATUM. 



Andropogon divaricatum L. Spec. PL 1045. — This North Ameri- 

 can grass has been neglected because it could not be identified. The 

 description is meager and misleading. The first species of Andropo- 

 gon described by Linnaeus, A. co?itortum, is now referred to Hete- 

 ropogon. The second species is A. divaricatum, described as follows: 



Andropogon spica oblonga, floribus lanatis remotis divaricatis: arista 

 flexuosa nuda. 



Lagurus humilior, panicula conica laxa nutante culmum terminante. 



I Gron. Virg. 135, 



Habitat in Virginia. 



It is interesting to note that the Index Kewensis maintains the 

 species, as Mr. Jackson had no reason for doing anything else with it. 

 Mr. Munro in his account of the grasses in Linnaeus's Herbarium 

 refers this to Andropogon ternatus Nees. Hackel in his monograph of 

 the Andropogoneae suspects that it should be referred to A, argyraeus 

 Schult., as A. ternatus is a South American species which Munro may 

 have confused with A, argyraeus, I have recently examined the speci- 

 men of A, divaricatum in the Linnaean Herbarium and find that it is 

 identical with his specimen of A, alopecuroides described as no. 4 of 

 the Species Plantarum, The specimen, however, is quite fragmentary, 

 consisting of a main axis with eight remote and divaricate branches, 

 the whole forming an oblong spike about two inches long. The 

 branches have from one to three spikelets. The plant was old, and all 

 the others have fallen off. The spikelets are identical, however, with 

 those of A, alopectiroides. In both cases the awn is twisted.' 



Linnaeus gives as synonym Gronovius 135. This is founded on 

 Clayton's no. 600 from Virginia and is Andropogon nutans L. I 

 examined this in the Herbarium of the British Museum where the 

 plants of Gronovius are deposited. 



The description of Linnaeus evidently applies to his own specimen 

 rather than to Gronovius's plant. Strict application of the rules of 

 priority would require that the specific name divaricatum be taken up 

 for A. alopecuroides, which is an Erianthus, but as I do not wish to 

 be quoted for such a binomial I do not make the combination. In 

 this connection it may be noted that some botanists consider the 

 twisted awn of Erianthus as a specific character. In Britton's Manual 

 we have Erianthus alopecuroides (L.) Ell, but Elliott's plant has the 



