45 



Botanical description (B. Fl., vii, 484) — 



Stems from a creeping and rooting base, ascending to 1 or 2 feet, rather stiff, the 



nodes glabrous. 

 Leaves narrow, more or less pubescent or hairy, or sometimes quite glabrous, ligula 



short, ciliate. 

 Panicle narrow, with a few long branches, erect or at length spreading, the spikelets 



shortly pedicellate, irregularly crowded on short secondary branches, with a 



filiform flexuose rhachis. 

 Spikelets 1^ lines long, glabrous, or the nerves of the glumes minutely ciliolate. 

 Older glume less than half the length of the spikelet, acute, one-nerved. 

 Second and third glumes nearly equal, acute or acuminate, prominently three or five 



nerved ; a male flower in the third. 

 Fruiting glume acute, smooth or minutely rugose. 



Value as a fodder. — Duthie quotes Royle and Roxburgh as stating 

 that cattle are fond of this grass in India. Not much is known in 

 regard to its fodder value in Australia. It will grow well in shady- 

 situations. 



Other uses. — Lamson-Scribner asserts that it has no agricultural 

 value, but that it is a natural sand-binder, stating that upon the sandy 

 islands lying off. the coast of the Gulf of Mexico it grows abundantly 

 upon the outside of the dunes, protecting them from the action of the 

 winds and waves. 



Habitat and range. — In the Coast districts of this Colony, extending 

 to Queensland and Northern Australia. Found also in Victoria. 

 Common in maritime districts in Southern Asia, the Mediterranean 

 region, apparently in Brazil, also in the Pacific Islands. 



41. Panicum pygmaeum, R.Br. 



Botanical name. — Pygmaeum — Latin, small or dwarfish. It is a 

 small grass. 



Vernacular name. — The " Pigmy Panic-grass." 



Where figured. — Agricultural Gazette. 



Botanical description (B. FL, vii, 484). — A small species, creeping 

 and rooting at the nodes, ascending to about 6 inches. 



Leaves rarely above 1 inch long, linear or lanceolate, ciliate, and usually but not 



always sprinkled with long hairs. 

 Panicle short and spreading with a few capillary flexuose simple or slightly divided 



branches. 

 Spikelets few and distant, scarcely 1 line long, obtuse, glabrous. 

 Outer glume very short, broad, truncate, nerveless. 

 Second and third glumes equal, three or five nerved, both empty. 

 Fruiting glume smooth and shining. 



Value as a fodder. — Probably small; it is a dainty little grass which 

 forms a dense, short turf even under the shade of trees, and hence 

 valuable for such situations. 



Habitat and range. — Coast district and Dividing Range from Port 

 Jackson northwards through Queensland. 



Reference to Plate — a, Portion of a panicle ; b, Spikelet, showing relative size of 

 outer glume, which is very short, broad, and truncate ; c, Spikelet dissected, showing 

 small outer glume, the 2nd and 3rd glumes, which are equal in size, and 3 and 5 nerved ; 

 also the fruiting glume. 



