282 Jour., Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc, Vol. XXXII, No. 2. [Oct. 20, 1927. 



Description : — Culms erect, simple, slender, from 12 em. in height andi 

 almost filiform to 2'8 m. high and 8 mm. diam., 3-4-noded, glabrous, solid r 

 slightly fistular at base : leaf-insertions tumid, glabrous or densely bearded with 

 erect white hairs. Leaf-sheaths rather loose, glabrous or glabrescent, ciliate or 

 glabrous along the margin towards apex, the lowest at length usually breaking. 

 up into fibres, usually longer than proper internode ; Hgules membranous, 

 rounded, truncate or 2-lobed,. ciliate, dorsally silky, attaining a height of 3 mm^ 

 Blade of uppermost leaf of flowering culm from mucroniform and 1*25 mm. 

 long to 15 cm. long and 6 mm. wide with greatest width in middle, of lower 

 leaves erect or arcuate and attaining a length of 12 m. and width of 27 mm., 

 greatest width about the middle, dark green, midrib white, apex acuminate, 

 narrowed towards the base where the midrib occupies almost the entire width 

 of the leaf, smooth, but scabrid on margin and on one or more sub-marginal 

 nerves above, especially towards the apex, white villous above on margins 

 towards the base and behind theligule. Panicle spike-like, 3-50 cm. long, not 

 exceeding 25 mm. in width, cylindric, very dense ; branches and branchlets 

 very numerous, crowded, appressed ; pedicels fine with clavate tips, glabrous, 

 scaberulous or pubescent, with long fine hairs below. Flcwering panicle purple 

 with the exserted stigmas, the callus-hairs being closely appressed to the axis, 

 fruiting panicle silvery white with the wide-spreading callus-hairs. Spikelets 

 not awned lanceolate,. 3 mm long, both spikelets of each pair similar, each 

 1-flowered and hermaphrodite, and at length falling from the pedicel : callus-hairs 

 soft, white, 2-3 times as long as the spikelets. Lower involucral glume lanceolate, 

 membranous, slightly thickened towards the base, apex hyaline, 3-9-nerved,. 

 none of the nerves extending to apex of glume, margins incurved ciliate above, 

 dorsally villous with soft white hairs overtopping the glume by \\ to 3 times the 

 length of the glume. Upper involucral glume similar and subequal to the lower,, 

 but sometimes sub-keeled with mid-nerve extending almost to apex. Lower 

 floral glume oblong, hyaline, nerveless, apex acute or subtruncate and laciniate 

 or denticulate, ciliate, \ to f of the upper involucral glume. Upper floral glume 

 subequal to the lower one, ovate-lanceolate, hyaline, nerveless,, apex acuminate, 

 acute or obtuse and laciniate or denticulate, minutely ciliate or glabrous. 

 Pale quadrate, rectangular or subpentagonal. hyaline, nerveless, apex 

 denticulate or unequally laciniate, glabrous or ciliate, \ the size of the upper floral 

 glume or subequal to it. Lodicules none or very minute. Anthers 2, 2-5-3 mm. 

 long, orange, filaments sometimes connate below. Stigmas 2, 3-4 mm. long,, 

 purple. 



Locality : Sind : (Stocks). — Gujarat : (Graham).— Konkan : Tardeo, Bombay 

 (Hallberg 5398 !) ; Alibag, sandy shore (Ezekiel!); near Thana (McCann!);; 

 Banks along railway track between Ghatkoper and Thana, Salsette (McCann ! ).— 

 S. M. Country : Shiggaon (Sedgwick 2353 !); Dwararji (Sedgwick and Bell !); 

 Castle Rock (Bhide !) ; Londa, common (McCann !.) .—Kanara ; Halyal (Talbot 

 1896 !). 



Distribution : The hotter parts of India, ascending in the Himalayas to at 

 least 6,500 feet, Mediterranean region .Africa, Java, Japan. China, Australia. 



Biology and Ecology : See Hole, 1. c. 96. 



Uses. .^ Dxithie says of this grass that ' cattle relish it '. 'In Australia/ he 

 says, ' it is called blady grass and the young succulent foliage which springs 

 up after the occurrence of a fire is much relished by stock. I have observed the 

 same effect resulting from periodical fires on certain parts of the Himala}^ where 

 this grass is plentiful,' (Duthie, Fodd. Grass, of N. Ind. 23)* 'In India/ 

 according to Hole (1. c. 101) ' the succulent white stolons are eaten by pigs and 

 areas which have been well-worked by pigs in their search for the stolons are 

 not infrequently seen in the forest. It is possible that in some cases the eradi- 

 cation of the species might be cheaply accomplished by the aid of pigs.' 



This grass is also known as a paper-making material : ' The ultimate fibre 

 obtained from this grass is very similar in most respects to Esparto ; the yield of 

 bleached fibre being about the same. This is a favourable indication inasmuch 

 as Esparto is one of the best known and most useful sources of supply to the 

 trade. The results obtained from the chemical analysis show that the grass is 

 capable of yielding a good quality of cellulose, suitable in every way for the 

 manufacture of paper.' 1 



The leaves are largely used for thatching (Hole). 



1 Agric. Bull, of the Straits and F. M. States , vii (1908), 586. 

 [2] 



