Gramineae 



183 



1. Digitaria henryi Rendle. Syntherisma henryi (Rcn- 

 dle) Newbold; Panicum henryi (Rendle) Makino & Nemoto 

 Henri-me-hi-shiba. Culms few, erect, slender, gla- 

 brous, 10-20 cm. long, from a long-creeping, branching base; 

 leaf-blades membranous, green, flat, linear, 4-7 cm. long, 3-5 

 mm. wide, short-acuminate, glabrous except for a few long, 

 spreading hairs on margins near base; ligules hyaline, 1.5-2 

 mm. long, glabrous; sheaths smooth, glabrous, rather short; 

 racemes 3-6, short, erect, pale green, 5-8 cm. long, slender, 

 the rachis scabrous on margins; spikelets broadly lanceolate, 

 acute, long-pubescent on both sides, 2.2-2.5 mm. long; first 

 glume minute, deltoid, the second linear-lanceolate, 1/2-2/3 

 as long as the spikelet, pubescent; sterile lemma broadly lan- 

 ceolate, acute, 7-nerved, the midrib somewhat distant from the 

 others, glabrous on the margins, long-pubescent on both faces; 

 fertile lemma very slightly shorter than the sterile one, lanceo- 

 late, short-acuminate, whitish. Sept.-Nov. Grassy places 



near seashores; Kyushu (s. distr.); rather rare. Ryukjois, 



Formosa, and s. China. 



2. Digitaria timorensis (Kunth) Balansa. D. chinensis 

 auct., non Hornem.; Panicum sangtiinale var. timorense 



(Kunth) Hack.; P. timorense Kunth. Ko-me-hi-shiba. 



Deep green slender annual, nearly glabrous throughout; culms 

 long-creeping, branching, erect in upper part, smooth, often 

 purplish; leaf-blades thin, flat, broadly linear, 4-7 cm. long, 

 4-10 mm. wide, with few long hairs near the base; ligules 

 1-1.5 mm. long; sheaths smooth, usually glabrous; racemes 

 2-4, digitate, slender, spreading, the rachis 4-7 cm. long, 

 smooth on margins; spikelets lanceolate, 2.8-3 mm., rarely 

 2.5 mm. long, acuminate, green; first glume nearly absent, the 

 second membranous, lanceolate, 3-nerved, pubescent, 3/5-2/3 

 as long as the spikelet; sterile lemma lanceolate, acuminate, 

 5-nerved, pubescent toward the margin; fertile lemma herba- 

 ceous, lanceolate, acuminate, pale green, as long as the sterile 



one. July-Oct. Shaded places near dwellings; Honshu 



(Kanto Distr. and westw.), Shikoku, Kyushu; rather com- 

 mon. s. Korea, Ryukyus, Formosa, China, Indochina, 



Malaysia, and Micronesia. 



3. Digitaria adscendens (HBK.) Henr. Panicum 

 adscendens HBK.; D. marginata Link; D. sanguinalis var. 

 marginata (Link) Fern.; P. sanguinale sensu auct. Japon., 

 non L.; Syntherisma sanguinalis sensu auct. Japon., non Dulac 

 Me-hi-shiba. Diffuse, hirsute or rarely glabrescent an- 

 nual; culms erect, 30-80 cm. long, ascending to creeping from 

 branching base, glabrous; leaf-blades flat, linear, 8-20 cm. long, 

 5-12 mm. wide, glabrous to sparingly hairy, often somewhat 

 glaucous; ligules hyaline, 1-3 mm. long, glabrous; sheaths 

 mosdy hirsute; racemes 3-8, ascending to spreading, pale 

 green, often somewhat purplish, 5-15 cm. long; rachis scabrous 

 on margins; spikelets appressed, about 3 mm. long, rather acu- 



minate, lanceolate; first glume deltoid, minute, the second 

 lanceolate, 3/5-2/3 as long as the spikelet, 3-nerved, acumi- 

 nate, pubescent; sterile lemma longer, broadly lanceolate, 

 membranous, pubescent especially toward die margins; ferule 

 lemma lanceolate, herbaceous, acuminate, lead-gray to white, 



as long as die sterile one. July-Nov. Waste grounds and 



cultivated fields; Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu; very 



common and variable. Widespread in warmer regions. 



Many specimens with long<iliate spikelets often considered to 

 be D. fimbriata Link. Kushige-me-hi-shiba, but this variant 

 scarcely merits nomenclatural recognition. 



4. Digitaria violascens Link. Panicum violascens 

 (Link) Kunth; Paspalum chinense Nees ex Hook. & Arn.; 

 Paspalum filiculme Nees ex Miq.; D. ischaemum var. asiatica 

 Ohwi; Syntherisma ischaemum sensu auct. Japon., non Nash; 

 D. ropalotricha sensu auct. Japon., non Buse; D. filiculmis 



(Nees ex Miq.) Ohwi Aki-me-hi-shiba. Glabrescent, 



tufted annual; culms 20-50 cm. long, erect from a short de- 

 cumbent or ascending base, glabrous; leaf-blades flat, 6-12 cm. 

 long, 5-8 mm. wide, slightly glaucescent above, slightly sca- 

 brous, glabrous or often widi a few, spreading, long hairs near 

 the base; ligules hyaline, pale-brown, 1-1.5 mm. long; 

 sheaths glabrous; racemes 4-10, digitate, ascending, 4-10 cm. 

 long, densely flowered; rachis less than 1 mm. wide, scabrous 

 on margins; spikelets ovate -elHptic, rather acute, 1.5-2 mm. 

 long, white-green and sometimes slightly reddish purple 

 tinged; first glume usually wanting, rarely hyaline and trun- 

 cate, early withering, the second slightly shorter than the spike- 

 let, 3-nerved, puberulent; sterile lemma 7-nerved, ovate-elliptic, 

 grayish crisped-puberulent between the nerves; fertile lemma 

 as long as the sterile one, ovate, coriaceous to herbaceous, dark 



brown, rather acute. Aug.-Oct. Grassy waste places and 



cultivated fields; Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, Kyushu; very 



common and variable. China, Formosa, Ryukyus, Korea, 



and S. America (naturalized). 



Var. lasiophylla (Honda) Tuyama. Syntherisma ischae- 

 mum var. lasiophylla Honda Arage-aki-me-hi-shiba. 



Plant slender, erect, with 1-3 erect racemes and hairy leaf- 

 blades. 



Var. intersita (Ohwi) Ohwi. D. ischaemum var. intersita 



Ohwi UsuGE-AKi-ME-Hi-SHiBA. Similar to the preceding 



variety but less hairy. Both varieties grow in rather wet places. 



5. Digitaria ischaemum (Schreb.) Schreb. ex Muhl. 

 Panicum ischaemum Schreb.; D. humifusa Pers.; Syntherisma 



glabra Schrad.; D. glabra (Schrad.) Beauv. Kita-me-hi- 



SHiBA. Similar to the preceding; spikelets slightly longer, 

 2-2.5 mm. long, somewhat convex on the upper side; second 

 glume and sterile lemma puberulent, at least some of the hairs 



clavately diickened at tip. Aug.-Sept. Hokkaido, Honshu; 



rare. Widespread in temperate regions. 



75. PASPALUM L. Suzume-no-hie Zoku 



Perennials or annuals with digitate or racemose inflorescences; spikelets geminate, densely arranged in 2 rows on one side 

 of the rachis, 1-flowered, ovate to rather orbicular, plano-convex; first glume wanting, the second next to the rachis, similar to 

 the sterile lemma, 3- to many-nerved, rounded on the back; sterile lemma flat; fertile lemma coriaceous, broadly ovate to 



nearly orbicular, usually smooth, rounded on back. About 200 species in warm-temperate and tropical regions, especially 



abundant in America. 



lA. Spikelets oblong, acute, more than rwice as long as broad; racemes 2. 



2A. Spikelets puberulent, about 3 mm. long; fertile lemma nearly as long as the spikelet; leaf-blades flat I. P. distichum 



2B. Spikelets glabrous, 3.5-4.5 mm. long; fertile lemma distinctly shorter than the spikelet; leaf-blades tapering to an involute point. 



2. P. vaginatum 



