417 Jour,, Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc., Vol. XXXII, No. 3. \Jan. 15, 1928 



(McCann 5592 !); Khandala (McCann 9950 !, 9740 !).— S. M. Country : Derikop 

 woods (Sedgwick 1845 !) ; Castle Rock (Gammie 15678 !). 

 Distribution : W. Peninsula, apparently endemic. 



2. Arthraxon serrulatus, Hochst. in Flora (185S), 188 ; Stapf in Fl. Trop Afr. 

 ix„ 163 — A. lanceolatus , Hack, in Monogr. Androp. 348 (excl. var. echinatus) \ 

 Duthie, Grass. N. W. Ind. 17; Hook.f. in F.B.I, vii, 143 [partim excl. Batra* 

 therum echinatum, Nees in Edinb. Phil. Journ. xviii, (1835) 181 ; Andropogon 

 echinatus, Heyne ex Steud. Nomencl. ed. 2, 91 ; Arthraxon echinatus, Hochst. 

 in Flora (1856), 188 ; Andropogon lanceolatus, Roxb. Fl. Ind. i, 257) ; Cke. ii, 

 968 {partim). A. lanceolatus var genuinus, subvar. serrulatus, Schweinf. in 

 Bull. Herb. Boiss., 2. ser. ii, 10. — Andropogon serrulatus , Link Hort. Berol. i, 

 241 [quoad specimen, descriptio partim erronea ?); A. Rich. Tent. Fl. Abyss, ii, 

 458.-^4 prionodes, Steud. Syn. PI. Glum. I, 383. — Batratherum lanceolatum, 

 Nees in Edinb. New Phil. Journ. xviii (1835), 181. — B, serrulatum, Hochst., ex 

 Steud. I.e. 



This species mcludes all the material of the Nileland of Tropical Africa, of 

 tropical Arabia and the greater part of the Indian specimens which, up to now, 

 were ranged under Arthraxon lanceolatus, Hochst., as understood by most 

 authors. 



It has been pointed out by Stapf that Arthraxon lanceolatus, Hochst., was 

 founded on Andropogon lanceolatus, Roxb., a Coromandel plant, which has 

 larger and wider long-awned spikelets with the lower involucral glume very 

 minutely rnuricate towards the tips only. Neither of these names can, 

 consequently, be mentioned as synonyms of Arthraxon serrulatus . 



Description. — A perennial grass ; rhizome short, emitting fascicles of closely 

 set culms and innovation shoots, which are more or less thickened below and 

 covered with reddish silky cataphylls. Stems rather slender, up to 90 cm. 

 high, many-noded, usually finely pubescent, sometimes glabrous, with vegeta- 

 tive branches below and usually solitary flowering branches above, the latter 

 subfastigiate. Leaf-blades lanceolate to ovate-lanceolate, setaceously acumi- 

 nate, with a caudate amplexicaul base glaucous or greenish, 25-5 cm. long, 12- 

 18 mm. wide, margius cartilaginous, ciliate with the cilia springing from tuber- 

 cles, smooth, very finely pubescent below or glabrous, primary lateral nerves 

 about 8-11 on each side, fine, slightly raised below; ligule 1-2 mm. long, rounded, 

 membranous; sheaths terete, tight, slightly shorter than the internodes or exceed- 

 ing them in the leafy shoots, more or less hairy with tubercle-based hairs and 

 often softly pubescent at the nodes, the uppermost frequently glabrous. Racemes 

 2-5 nate, slender, greenish or suffused with purple or violet, 3-over 5 cm. long on 

 a short common axis, the fascicles borne on a slender peduncle, shortly or far 

 exerted from the supporting bladeless or almost bladeless sheath ; rhachis fragile 

 shortly bearded at the nodes ; joints narrowly linear, 3'3-6*3 mm. long, hairy on 

 the back and sides, or the lowest almost glabrous, hairs increasing upwards to 

 more than 2 mm.; pedicels very similar, but much shorter and more slender. 

 Sessile spikelets narrowly lanceolate -linear to linear slightly tapering upwards 

 up to 7*4 mm. long (not including the awn), glabrous; callus very short, 

 puberulous. Glumes 4. Lower involucral glume chartaceous, 6 mm. long, 

 lanceolate, with a minutely truncate hyaline tip, very convex on the back, which 

 is smooth or more often muricate along the 4 indistinct or faintly raised 

 inner, spinulously muricate along the outer nerves, margins hyaline, compara- 

 tively wide ; upper linear-lanceolate in profile, membranous, 3-nerved, glabrous 

 or nearly so. Lower floral glume linear, acute, up to 4 mm. long, b} aline, 

 nerveless or obscurely 1-nerved at the base ; upper membranous at the base, 

 hyaline upwards, narrowly lanceolate-linear in profile, 2-dentate, with the 

 teeth minute, sometimes produced into short capillary bristles, delicately 

 3-nerved, awned from near the base, awn 8-15 mm. long, very fine, kneed 

 about the middle, twisted below. Anthers up to 3 mm. long. Grain bacilliform 

 about 42 mm. long. Pedicelled spikelet male, linear-lanceolate, acute, about 

 5 mm. long. Involucral glumes subequal, lower herbaceous-chartaceous, acute, 

 Scaberulous along the outer and slightly so on the 4-5 inner nerves or almost 

 smooth, upper slightly shorter, membranous, otherwise as in the sessile spikelet. 

 Lower floral glume as in the sessile spikelet, upper linear-oblong, obtuse, 

 nerveless, muticous. 



Locality : Sind : (Stocks 642).— Gujarat : Morvi, Kathiawar (Woodrow). — 

 Deccan : Lonavla (Woodrow) ; Pashan, tank (Gammie!). Panchgani (Blatter 



[10] 



