664 CXII. GRAMINE^] [Arundlnaria 



p. Lodicules 2 or 3. 



(1) Loosely tufted, culms spreading, 



often climbing over large trees. 

 Spikelets small, in distant 

 compact globose heads . . 12. Melocalatos. 



(2) Usually single-stemmed. Spike- 



lets in large panicles . . 13. Melocanna. 



(b) Stamens 6-120. Tufted, sterns often over- 

 hanging 14. Ochlandra. 



1. ARUNDINARIA, Michaux ; Pi. Brit. Ind. vii. 376. 



Usually tufted and erect, rarely single -stemmed or climbing, culms slender, 

 terete, branches in half whorls. L. small, n. as a rule 21-36 on \ in., note- 

 worthy exceptions: A. falcata 36-48, microphylla 48, jaunsarensis 33^42 ; 

 transverse veins in most species conspicuous, in the Indian species usually 

 forming long rectangles with nerves. Spikelets often pedicelled, in racemes or 

 panicles, 1- to many-fid., empty glumes 2, palea two-keeled, lodicules 3, ciliate. 

 Stamens as a rule 3 (6 in A. Prainii and Clarkei), style short, stigmas 2 or 3, 

 plumose. Species 50, 15 in America, 1 in South Africa, the rest Asiatic. 



I. Erect, unarmed, bracts of inflorescence small. 



A. Inflorescence usually at the end of leafy culms, mostly flowering 

 annually, transverse veins conspicuous as a rule. 

 (a) Western species. 



1. A. Wightiana, Wees ; G-amble, Bambusese t. 2. Bedd. Man. t. 28. Nilgiris above 

 6,000 ft., common as underwood in Sholas, but also in the open. Palghat. Tinnevelli. 

 Tufted, fl. annually, culms slender 6-10 ft., internodes 10-14 in. long, culm-sheaths 

 papery, straw-coloured, in the lower part with stiff golden hairs, ribs prominent, blade 

 subulate, 1-1A in. L. thin, 5-7 by J-l in., n. 27-33 on J in., transverse veins oblique, 

 distance between them more than twice the interval between 2 nerves, a few bristles 

 at the mouth of leaf-sheath. Panicles leafy, branchlets capillary, as well as the long 

 pedicels, spikelets purple, J-J in. long, fertile fl. 1-A. 2. A. Walkeriana, Munro \ 

 Gamble t. 1. Palnis. — Ceylon. L. thick, elliptic-lanceolate, 5-11 by 1— 1| in., n. 18-24 

 on \ in., margins cartilaginous, thickened and recurved, serrulate. 



3. A. densifolia, Munro ; Gamble t. 7. Anamalais 8,500 ft. — Ceylon. A small 

 gregarious shrub, ^-3 ft. high, stiff densely-leafy culms arising from a thick rhizome, 

 internodes 1J-3 by \ in. L. densely imbricate, 1-1| by \~\ in., transverse veins close 

 together, making horizontal narrow rectangles with the n. Panicle dense, leafy, 

 consisting of spikes bearing 5-6 1-fld. spikelets. Style short, soon branching into 2 

 feathery stigmas. 



(6) Eastern species 



4. A racemosa, Munro ; Gamble t. 8. Vern. Moling, Nep. Phiung, Bhutia. East 

 Nepal and Sikkim 6-9,000 ft. Gregarious, single-stemmed, culms 10-30 ft. high, 

 internodes rough in the upper portion, 12-15 in. long, |-1J in. diam., culm- 

 sheaths 7-10 in., prominently ribbed, blade subulate 2-3 in. long, ligule fimbriate. 

 L. 5-7 by J-| in., n. 27-36 on J in., transv. veins forming rectangles with nerves. 

 This low-level species, which is common about Darjeeling, and is largely used for mat- 

 making, for the roofs of houses, for fences and as fodder for cattle and ponies, ap- 

 parently flowers at long intervals. According to the Bengal Forest Beport for 1903-4, 

 p. 9, a small patch of it flowered that year in the Darjeeling division, but I have not 

 seen fl. Gamble unites it with a small high-level bamboo ascending to 12,000 ft. in 

 Sikkim and the adjoining districts of Nepal, stems 3 ft. high, reddish, 1. 3 by J-J in., 

 n. 33-39 on J in., transverse veins close, forming with n. squares and short rectangles, 

 which has a leafy panicle, the branches of which are supported by persistent sheaths, 

 spikelets 1-1 J in. long, 4-8-fld., anthers purple, bifid at top, style short, stigmas 2 or 3, 

 papillose. 5. A. elegans, Kurz ; Gamble t. 4. Naga hills, 5,500 ft. (Jilli). Hills east 

 of Toungoo (Nattaung), 5-7,500 ft. Tufted, fl. annually, culms slender, 12-20 ft. high. 

 L. 4-5 in. long, n. 27-33 on J in. transverse veins close, forming squares or short 

 rectangles. Spikelets 1 in. or longer, 7-8-fld., anthers purple, stigmas white, plumose, 

 separate, sessile each on a thick bulbous base. 6. A polystachya, Kurz MSS. ; Gamble, 

 t. 5. Sikkim 3-5,000 ft. Khasi hills. L. soft, 6-8 by J-l in., transv. veins none or 

 few, ligule long, striate, blunt, fimbriate. Inflorescence a large leafy racemose panicle, 

 spikelets 4-6-fld., stigmas sessile, plumose (not seen).- 



