66 
Panicum curtisii Chapm. Maiden Cane; Simpson's-grass. 
A sa coarse grass, 2 to 4 feet high, growing along 
oist sands from Delaware southward to Florida and along the Gulf near the 
iin It has strong and widely spreading or creeping rootstocks, which are 
useful in binding Saga railroad embankments in the Southern and Gulf States. 
mposi R. 
A stout, rsen At cerise eras, with long, flat leaves, and diffusely branching 
panicle 6 to 12 inches long. The grain is used for food by t he aborigines of Aus- 
tralia. Baron Ferd. von Mueller says of this and the Australian Panicum effusum 
that they are among the few nutritious grasses fit for hot and arid desert tracts.” 
The habit of P. decompositum closely resembles that of Panicum proliferum 
(which see). 
ditches, in swamps, and in 
Panicum 5 endi 
A smooth, by grass, with stems 6 to 8 feet high, and numerous short, 
spreading bie. dii is a grass of tropical and subtropical America present- 
ing quite a variety of forms, one of these extending into southern Florida. 
Branching Panic; Small Cane 
(Panicum erus- 
Fra. 61.—Barnyard-grass. Fig, 62.—Guinea-grass. (Panicum jumen- 
galli.) torum.) 
Panicum fasciculatum Sw. Concho- 
leafy annaal, growing in clumps to the height 
of 2 to 3 feet. The leaves are - one-fourth to one-half an inch iin and 2 to 6 
ative of Texas and tees ida. Simila te d 
closely allied botanically to [prae teranu „„ 
Panicum filiforme Linn. Slender Crab-grass. 
A native annual grass, common in sandy so soils, particularly in old fields, flowering in 
July and August. Itis closely related to Crab- which it much resembles, 
but is more slender in its growth, and is of very little or no agricultural value. 
