126 BOTANICAL GAZETTE [FEBRUARY 
characterized by Torrey, but there are some peculiarities which 
have been omitted, and these consist especially in the structure of 
the shoots, the vegetative and the floral; furthermore, the histology 
has only been touched upon very briefly. 
The peculiar bushy habit of the plant depends upon the fact that 
the culms are not directly terminated by the inflorescence. Usually 
in the Gramineae the long internode of the culm passes immediately 
over into the inflorescence, but in Munroa the spikelets are preceded 
by two or three green leaves which are borne upon the culm near the 
apex, and whose internodes are exceedingly short, often being barely 
visible. These green leaves all subtend shoots, which develop into 
floral or vegetative branches, and quite often into secondary culms 
from the apex of which the same development of shoots is repeated. 
Beneath the terminal inflorescence there is thus a small cluster of 
shoots, developed in the axils of green leaves, a ramification that 
calls to mind the well-known condition known in teratology as ‘“‘pro- 
lification,’’ but which is normal and constant in Munroa. To sepa- 
rate these shoots and to define their proper order might at first glance 
seem difficult, not only on account of their relatively large number, 
but also because the internodes are so very short. However, if we 
examine the shoots carefully, it is easily seen that the’ first leaf of 
several of them represents a fore-leaf (prophyllon) of most character 
istic and striking shape.’ The presence of a fore-leaf actually gives 
the clue to the composition of these “fascicles of leaves and shoots,” 
since it always signifies a lateral ramification, and in the Gramineae 
is nearly always situated on the branch with its dorsal surface toward 
the mother axis. In Munroa this prophyllon has attained a high 
development, and is not only represented by an open sheath-like 
body, but the two nerves are extended into very long, stiff, divergent 
setae (jig. 8); the sheath-like portion is membranaceous, ciliate, and 
minutely pubescent on the dorsal face. Altogether it is a structure 
so remarkable and characteristic that it may well deserve to be men 
tioned in the diagnosis of the genus. 
The composition of the shoots in Munroa is illustrated by the two 
accompanying diagrams (jigs. g and 10), which represent two fre- 
5 Some new anatomical characters for certain Gramineae. Beihefte Bot. Cent. 
11:28. 1901. 
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