433 Jour , Bom. Nat. Mist. Soc ., Vol. XXXII, No. 3. [Jan. 15, 1928, 



subcoriaceous, quite glabrous and smooth, more or less cinnamon-coloured or 

 russet on the inside ; sheath of the culms tight, shorter than the internodes, 

 finely pubescent or velvety at the nodes. Spatheate panicle decompound to 

 subdecompound, loose, 30 to over 60cm. long, nodding; internodes 4 to over 

 6, the longest up to 20 or 22 cm. long, rapidly, decreasing in length upwards ; 

 lowest primary branches undivided at the base, up to over 45 cm. long, and 

 up to 5- or 6-noded, the following forming mixed tiers of very unequal variously 

 compound and simple rays, ultimate tiers up to 4-rayed ; rays filiform and 

 glabrous; spathes narrow-lanceolate, acute or acuminate, 2*5-5 cm. long with 

 narrow membranous margins. Spatheoles very narrow, linear-lanceolate to 

 almost subulate when inrolled, 14-18 mm. long, acute or finely acuminate, 

 reddish to rich russet. Peduncles 6-10 mm. long, glabrous. Racemes 2-nate, 

 finally spreading at right angles or epinastically deflexed, moderately dense, 

 14-25 mm. long, pale, variously tinged with dull purple, loosely villous, one 

 subsessile, the other with a slender filiform bare base, almost 2 mm. long and 

 hairy, the pedicel of the homogamous pair also slender, though short; fertile 

 joints filiform, slender, 2-3 mm. long, ciliate on both sides, tips obliquely 

 auriculate and cupular, adjacent pedicels very similar. Homogamous pair of 

 spikelets 1 at the base of the sessile raceme, its sessile member usually slightly 

 differing in shape from the fertile spikelets. Fertile spikelets linear to linear- 

 lanceolate, acutely acuminate, 5-6 mm. long, reddish, glabrous; callus short, 

 obtuse, minutely bearded. Involucral glumes subequal, lower subchartaceous, 

 slightly depressed towards the base, otherwise flat on the back, keels acute, 

 scaberulous above, intracarinal nerves or 1, short or indistinct, upper boat- 

 shaped, slightly curved on the back, acute, keeled upwards. Lower floral 

 glume hyaline, linear-oblong or almost linear, sub-2-nerved, ciliolate above, 

 slightly shorter than the involucral glumes, upper narrowly linear, acute, about 

 4 mm. long, usually entire and awnless, rarely more or less 2-fid with a Small 

 bristle from the sinus. Anthers 2 mm. long. Pedicelled spikelets male or 

 neuter, linear to subulate-lanceolate, as long as the sessile, reddish, glabrous; 

 lower involucral glume 5-9-nerved, upper 3-nerved; lower floral glume 

 shorter to much shorter than the involucral glumes, hyaline, ciliolate, upper 

 very narrowly linear, nerveless if present at all. 



Locality : Gardens in Bombay. 



Distribution : This grass is only known in the cultivated state. Probably of 

 Indian origin, and now widely distributed over the tropics of both hemispheres. 

 See Stapf in Kew Bull. (1906), 334. 



History and uses of the Lemon-grass : Stapf I.e. 322-330. 334, 358. 



4. Cymbopogon Martini, Stapf in Kew Bull. (1906), 359 ; Haines Bot. Bihar and 

 Orissa 1046. — C. Martinianus, Schult. Mant. ii (1824), 459.— Andropogon 

 Martini, Roxb. Fl. Ind. i (1820), 280.— A. pachnodes, Trin. in Mem. Acad. 

 Petersb. ser. 6, ii (1833), 284. and Spec. Gram. Ic. (1836), tab. 327.—^. Calamus 

 aromaticus, Royle, Essay Antiq. Hind. Med. (1837), 33 {nomen tantum), Illustr. 

 Bot. Himal. (1840), tab. 28Q.—A. nardoides, ctNees, Fl. Afr. Austr. (1841), 116. 

 — A. Schosnanthus, Fluck. and Hanb. Pharmacogr. (1874), 660 {non Linn.) — 

 A. Schosnanthus, var. genuinus, Hack. Monogr. Androp. (1889), 609 {partim). 

 — A. Schcenanthus , var. Martini, Hook. f. in F. B. I. vii (1897), 204 {exclus. 

 synon. referentibus ad pi ant as Africanas). — For the foundation of this species 

 and its synonymy see Stapf in Kew Bull. (1906), 335-337. 



Fern. Names : Geranium grass, Rusa grass ; rohisha, rosem (Sanskr.) ; 

 rusa, gandh-bel, mirchia gandh, tikhari (Hindust.) ; rohish, roshegavat 

 (Mar.) ; rhonse, rauns (Guj.) ; eunthi hullu, khasi hullu (Kanar.). 



Description : A tall, perennial sweet-scented grass, l"5-2'4m. high. Stems 

 glabrous, straw-coloured, leafy. Leaves flat, usually broad, rounded or sub- 

 cordate at the base, more or less glaucous beneath, those below the inflore- 

 scence rarely under 23 cm. long by 1 cm. wide at the base, but often 25 cm. 

 wide below, tapering from a little above the base or from the middle to a firm 

 tip, glabrous except for the scabrid margins, margin sometimes smooth near 

 the base. Spikes 2-nate, 12-38 mm. long, oblique or divaricate or less often 

 deflexed. Peduncle about half the length of the 18-25 mm. long spatheole, 

 several spatheoles and their peduncles from a spathe of lower order, these 

 arranged in long usually narrowly oblong panicles not more than 35-5 cm. 

 wide, but sometimes panicle with many branches and broader. Joints and 

 pedicels slenderly clavate (excluding the much thickened lowest), about half as 



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