23 



4. Paspalum minutiflorum, Steucl. 



Botanical name. — Minutifloruin, from two Latin words signifying 

 small-flowered (minutus, flos floris) . 



Vernacular names. — The small-flowered Paspalum. 

 Botanical description (B.FL, vii, 461). — A rather tall, glabrous grass 

 closely resembling at first sight the Panicum parviflorum, R. Br., but 

 with the characters of Paspalum and nearly allied to P. brevifolium. 

 Leaves flat, rather long and narrow, the ligula short, not ciliate. 

 Spikes or panicle branches rather numerous, filiform, alternate or the upper ones 



clustered, 3 to 5 inches long. 

 Spikelets numerous, very shortly but unecpaally pedicellate, narrow ovate, rather 



acute, about f line long. 

 Empty glumes two, nearly equal, prominently three-nerved, glabrous or the margins 



minutely ciliate. 

 Fruiting glume acute, smooth, and shining. 



Botanical notes. — Bailey remarks, u it might be called the autumnal 

 form of P. brevifolium." 



Value as a fodder. — Gives good pasture and plenty of seed. 

 (Bailey.) 



Habitat and range.— -It occurs in damp land on our Northern rivers, 

 and along the Queensland coast districts. Widely spread over tropical 

 Asia. 



2. ERIOCHLOA. 



Spikelets 1-flowered, without protruding awns, with a callous 

 annular or almost cuplike base, articulate on a short pedicel/in one 

 or two rows along one side of the slender branches of a simple panicle. 



Glumes three, two outer ones empty, usually membranous, equal or 

 nearly so, the third or flowering glume shorter, of a firm coriaceous 

 texture, obtuse, but tipped with a point or short awn not exceeding 

 the other glumes. 



Palea within the flowering glume coriaceous and involute. 



Styles distinct, rather long. 



Grain enclosed in a hardened palea and flowering glume, and free 

 from them. 



Spikelets usually above 1| lines long, the rhachis of the spikes and 



main axis of the panicle pubescent or hirsute ... ... ... 1. E. punctata. 



Spikelets usually under 1^ lines long, the rhachis and main axis 



glabrous 2. E. annulata. 



1. Eriochloa punctata, Hamilt. 



Botanical name. — Eriochloa, from two Greek words signifying 

 wool and grass, or rather, the blade of young grass [erion, chloe) ; 

 punctata, Latin for dotted, apparently from the annular disc at the 

 base of the flowering glume, which gives the inflorescence a dotted 

 appearance, accentuated when the annulus is (as it often is), of a dark 

 colour. 



Synonym. — Both E. punctata and E. annulata are included under 

 E. polystachya, Humb. et Kth., in Mueller's Census. 



