100 BRITISH GRASSES. 



Tribe II. PANICE.E. 



A tribe of grasses, containing several genera, the mem- 

 bers of which are important in warm climates. The 

 name is derived from the characteristic form of the in- 

 florescence. The panicle varies extremely in form 

 throughout the tribe, often being light and spreading, 

 but occasionally so dense as to resemble a spike. The 

 spikelets are dorsally compressed, the glumes two, un- 

 equal. 



Genus II. MILIUM. 



Gen. Char. Spikelets single-flowered ; empty glumes two, 

 nearly equal, tumid, ovate, pointed ; flowering glume smaller, 

 ovate, permanent, finally cartilaginous and glossy, enclosing 

 the seed ; scales two, ovate, obtuse ; stamens three, thread- 

 shaped, roundish ; styles two, capillary ; stigmas tufted. 



The generic name is given because of the resemblance 

 of the grasses to the sort of corn used in ancient times, 

 and remarkable for the number of its seeds, called Mi- 

 lium ; hence Festus derives the name from mille, a thou- 

 sand. The Roman plant in question probably belonged 

 to the next genus, Panicum. 



Milium efFusum. Spreading Millet. 



Boot perennial, fibrous, with creeping shoots ; stem erect, 

 tall, often attaining a height of from four to five feet, slen- 

 der and glossy ; leaves short, flat, smooth, four or five in 

 number; sheaths small and striated; ligules oblong; pa- 

 nicle widely spreading, hence the specific name, erect, the 

 branches long and slender, placed in bundles at intervals 

 along the rhachis ; spikelets numerous, small, ovate, one- 

 flowered; empty glumes equal, broad, membranaceous, con- 

 cave but not keeled, nearly smooth ; flowering glume slightly 



