154 



Chase — Notes on Genera of Panic e^. IV 



ceeding the glumes and fruit, notched or entire, mucronate or short- 

 awned, enclosing a hyaline palea ; fruit elliptic, acute, the lemma very 

 convex or boat-shaped, the firm margins clasping the lemma, not inrolled. 

 Usually weak, freely branching, creeping or ascending annuals or peren- 

 nials, with flat, thin, lanceolate blades, the species confined to the tropics 

 and warm temperate regions of both hemispheres. 



In this genus the awns are variable in length in the same species. 



27. Genus ECHINOCHLOA Beauv. 



Echinochloa Beauv. Ess. Agrost. 53. pi. 11. f. 2. 1812. The first of 

 several species of Panicum listed under this genus, and in the index ( page 

 161 ) transferred to it, and the one figured is E. crusgalli (L.) Beauv., 

 which is taken as the type. This species is based on Panicum crusgalli 

 L. (Sp. PI. .")(',. l7-">3) ''Habitat in Europae, Virginiae cultis." The only 



specimen in the Linnaean Herbarium to 

 which Linnaeus has attached the name is 

 line of the ordinary small form of this 

 species.* This is marked " K " indicating 

 that it was collected by Kalm in America. 

 Adanson (Fam. PI. 2:496. 1761!) pro- 

 poses a genus Tenia with the differentiat- 

 ing diagnosis " Corolla obtuse or aristate 

 on the exterior scale of the sterile flower." 

 No binomial is cited. The authority for 

 the genus is given as "H[ort.] M[alab] 

 12. t. 79" (which would indicate that 

 Adanson adopts the genus from that 

 work), and "Panicum Rmnph. 5. t. 76. 

 f. 2." and " Gramen paniceum spica 

 divisa C. B." [Caspar Bauhin] are cited. 

 The last citation refers to Panicum crus- 

 galli L. and is also given by Linnaeus 

 under that species (Sp. PL 56. 1753). 

 The plant described and figured in Rheede 

 ( Hort. Malabar. 12 : pi. 79. 1703) is 

 Chaetochloa italica ( L. ) Scribn. and the 

 name there given it is Tenna, of which 

 Tenia would appear to be an erroneous 

 transcript. The plant illustrated in 

 Rumphius ( Herb. Anib. 5 : pi. 7(3. I'. 2. 

 1747) is Eleusine indica. If Adanson 

 meant to unite these species in a single genus, as would appear to be 

 the case, the name Tenia would go with the first reference, and, since this 

 is not associable with a previously published binomial the genus is not 

 technically published. It is possible that the reference given to Rumphius 

 is an error for plate 75, figure 2, this being an illustration of Chaetochloa 

 italica. 



Fig. 16. 



Echinochloa crusgalli. 



(Two views of spikelet ami fruit 



x "iVi diain. ) 



'See Hitchcock, Contr. Nat. Herb. 12 : 117. 1908. 



