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66. ECHINOPOGON. 



Spikelets one-flowered, nearly sessile in a dense panicle contracted 

 into a Lead or short spike, the rhachis of the spikelet articulate above 

 the two outer glumes and produced into a short bristle above the 

 flower. 



Glumes three, two outer persistent, acute, keeled ; flowering glume 

 thin, five-nerved, three-lobed, the lateral lobes unawned, the central 

 one produced into a fine straight awn. 



Palea narrow. 



Styles distinct, the stigmas very shortly plumose. 



Grain enclosed in the flowering glume, but free from it. 



1. Echinopogon ovatus, Beauv. 



Botanical name. — Echinopogon, Greek echinos a hedgehog, pogon a 

 beard, in allusion to the very rough flower-head ; ovatus, Latin egg- 

 shaped, or of an oval figure, in allusion to the shape of the flower-head. 



Vernacular name. — "Rough-bearded Grass." 



Where figured. — Labillardiere as Agrostis ovata ; Buchanan ; Agri- 

 cultural Gazette. 



Botanical description (B. FL, vii, 599). — An erect glabrous grass, 

 from under 1 foot to above 2 feet high. 



Leaves flat, very scabrous, the asperites reversed on the sheath and back of the blade, 



erect on the upper surface. 

 Head or spikelike panicle on a long terminal peduncle, varying from ovoid-globular 



and ^ inch diameter to oblong-cylindrical and 2 inches long. 

 Spikelets numerous and densely crowded, about 1^ lines long without the awns. 

 Outer glumes lanceolate, boat-shaped, the keel prominent, green and ciliate. 

 Flowering glume rather broad, surrounded by a tuft of hairs, the lateral lobes very 



short, acute, rigid at the base, the central one shortly flat at the base, tapering 



to an awn of 2 to 4 lines. 

 Paled nearly as long as the glume. 

 Bristle continuing the axis at the back of the palea usually shorter than the glume, 



bearing a short tuft of hairs or rudimentary glume. 



Value as a fodder. — A harsh grass of very little fodder value. It 

 seeks the protection of shrubs and fences, and hence occasionally 

 affords a bite to hungry stock when more palatable grasses have been 

 eaten down. 



Habitat and range. — Found in all the Colonies, including New 

 Zealand. In New South Wales, extending from the coast to the 

 table-land, and up to nearly 5,000 feet on Mount Kosciusko. 



67. PAPPOPHORUM. 



Spikelets with one hermaphrodite flower and 1 or more male or 

 rudimentary flowers or empty glumes above it, in a short, dense and 

 spikelike or narrow and loose panicle, the rhachis of the spikelet 

 articulate above the outer glumes and hairy round the flowering 

 glume. 



