134 



Section II. — Monachatheea. 



Panicle almost reduced to a raceme or very short. Flowering 

 glumes with a broad obliquely turbinate hard base and ciliate with 

 long hairs, the awn shorter or scarcely longer than the lobes. 



Spikelets distant, in an almost simple raceme. Lobes of the 

 flowering glumes lanceolate, two or three times as long as 

 the base 2. D. bipartita. 



Spikelets few, in a very short panicle. Lobes of the flowering 



glumes not longer than the base 3. D.carphoides. 



Section III. — Eudanthonia. 



Flowering glume ovoid or oblong at the base, scarcely oblique, 

 ciliate at least at the base. Awn longer than the lateral lobes. 



Panicle loose. Spikelets numerous. Hairs of the flowering glume 

 marginal and scattered, or in longitudinal series on the back ; 

 lateral lobes acute or scarcely awned .. ... ... ... 4. D. pallida. 



Panicle rather dense. Flowering glumes very small, with copious 

 long hairs, lateral lobes very short, with long awns. Leaves 

 long and filiform 5. D. longifolia. 



Panicle narrow or dense. Flowering glumes oblong, with long 

 marginal cilia, but very few hairs on the back. 

 Stems stout, 3 to 5 feet high. Leaves long, with long loose 



sheaths. Panicle branched ... ... ... ... ... 6. D. robusta. 



Stems under 2 feet high. Leaves narrow. Panicle reduced to 



a single raceme, or the lower panicles with two spikelets... 7. D. racemosa. 

 Stems under 2 feet high. Leaves very narrow. Panicle dense 8. D. pilosa. 



Panicle dense or rather loose. Flowering glumes oblong, with a 

 ring of long hairs at or below the base of the lobes. Outer 

 glumes not much exceeding the spikelet. Leaves narrow, 

 but not setaceous ... ... ... ... ... ... 9. D. semiannularis. 



Panicle small, few-flowered. Flowering glumes ciliate with long 

 hairs, the lobes broad, not longer than the base. Small 

 Alpine plant ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...11. D. pauciflora. 



1. Danthonia paradoxa, R.Br. 



Botanical name. — Danthonia, in honour of M. Danthoine, a French 

 botanist (none of his works are mentioned in Pritzel's Thesaurus). 

 Paradoxa, Latin, something unexpected. This species is of unusual 

 appearance for a Danthonia. 



Botanical description (B. FL, vii, 591). 

 Stems 2 to 3 feet high. 

 Leaves long and narrow, glabrous. 

 Panicle very loose, 3 to 4 inches long, with long capillary divided branches at length 



spreading. 

 Spikelets pedicellate, flat, three- or four-flowered, 3 to 4 lines long. 

 Outer empty glumes rather rigid, acute, 2 to 1\ lines long. 

 Flowering glumes shorter, very shortly hairy or pubescent below the middle, the two 



lobes shorter than the base, broad, shortly nerved, unawned. 

 Central awn not exceeding them, somewhat flattened and brown at the base as in 

 other species, but rarely long enough to show any twist. 



Botanical notes. — The almost glabrous spikelets have much the 

 appearance of those of a Poa, but the structure is quite that of a short- 

 awned Danthonia (Benth.) 



