641 Jour., Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc, Vol. XXX11, No. 4 [May 31, 1928, 



Gram. Pan. 95, Sp. Gram. Xc t 112— P longiflorum, P. Beauv! Fl. Owar. ii, 

 46, t. 85, fig- 2; Gran. Cat. Bomb. 234 {non Retz.).— P. brachiatum, Trin- ex 

 Nees Agrost. Bras. 62. — P. foliosnm, Kunth Rev. Gram, i, 25— P. sauamatum T 

 Steud. 1. c. 21. — P.inflatum. A. Rich- in Ram.de Sagra Fl. Cub. iii, 298— 

 P. kleinianum, Presl Rel. Haenk. i, 209.— P Boryamtm, Presl 1. c— Digit aria 

 foliosa, Lag. Gen. et Sp. Nov- 4— D- vaginata, Philippe Fl- d. Pyren. ii, 415. — 

 D. paspaloides var. longipes, Lange ex Willk & Lange Prodr. Fi. Hisp. i, 

 45. — Sanguinaria vaginata, Bub. Fl. Pyren. iv, 258. 



To explain the change of name from P. distichum, Linn, to P. vaginaium, 

 Sw., and to elucidate certain points of the above synonymy taken from Stapf, it 

 will suffice to quote the short explanation given in the Fl. Trop. Afr. p. 572 : 

 ' Frequently confused with Paspalum distichum, Linn. (Herb. Linn. !) which 

 has broader and flatter leaves, mostly sessile or subsessile lateral spikes and 

 spikelets with firmer sides and a more convex upper glume, which is appressedly 

 and silky pubescent.' 



Description : Cke. ii, 943. 



Locality: Gujarat'. Marshy edge of the Bokh, Prantij (Herb. Econ. Bot, 

 Poona!).— Konkan : Marine Lines, Bombay (Hallberg 9514!); sea-shore, 

 Bombay (Woodrow) ; Malabar Hill, Bombay (McCann 3609 !) ; St. Xavier's 

 College compound (McCann 9830 !) ; Alibag, sandy shore (Ezekiel !) ; Malwan 

 (Woodrow). 



Distribution : Tropics of the whole world, mostly on the sea-shore ; intro- 

 duced into Galicia (Spain) and the Western and Central Pyrenees. 



47. Paspalidium, Stapf in Prain Fl. Trop. Afr. ix (1917), 15 clavi et I. c. 



(1920), 582. 



(Sect. Paspaloides in F. B. I. partim). 

 Perennial, semiaquatic or terrestrial. Leaves linear, flat or involute. Ligule 

 a ciliolate rim. Racemes sessile or sub-sessile and secund on the alternate 

 notches of a triquetrous common axis of a false compound spike, more or less 

 appressed to the more or less hollo wed-out flanges of the latter. Rhachis ending 

 in a subulate point. Spikelets mostly conspicuously 2-seriate, nearly always 

 quite glabrous, ovate to ovate-oblong or ovate-lanceolate (when seen in front 

 view), awnless, falling entire from the pedicels, solitary, secund and abaxial en 

 the rhachis. Involucral glumes mostly dissimilar and very unequal in length ; 

 lower reduced to a small scale or up to, rarely over, half the length of the 

 spikelet, upper mostly almost equalling the spikelet, 5-7-nerved with the 

 nerves evenly distributed, rarely both glumes much reduced. Lower floral glume 

 similar to the upper involucral glume with the inner side-nerves more distant,. 

 pale if present only slightly shorter than its glume with well developed inflexed 

 flaps ; upper floral glume oblong to elliptic in outline, acute to apiculate ; 

 emucronate, crustaceous with firm involute margins, faintly 5-nerved, pale 

 almost as long as its glume, 2-keeled, its sides tightly embraced by the glume 

 all along. Lodicules 2, small, broadly cuneate. Stamens 3. Styles distinct; 

 stigmas plumose, laterally exserted from the upper part of the spikelet. Grain 

 tightly enclosed by the more or less hardened glume and pale. 



Species about 12.— In the warm countries of the whole world. Six are con- 

 fined to Australia and New Caledonia. 



Cooke (ii, 929) describes 3 species belonging to this genus :. Panicum 

 flavidum, Retz., P. punctatum, Burm., and P. fluitans, Retz. We retain all, but 

 substitute the older name geminalum for fluitans. 



I. Lower spikes shorter than the internodes. Upper 



involucral glume shorter than the upper -floral 



glume ... ... ... ... l. P. flavidum. 



II, Lower spikes as long as or longer than the internodes. 



Upper involucral glume about £ the upper floral 



glume 2. P. punctatum, 



III. Lower spikes as long as or shorter than the iaternodes. 



Upper involucral glume mostly as long as the 



upper floral glume 3. P. geminatum. 



1. Paspalidium flavidum— A. Camus in Lecomte Fl. l'lndo-Chine, vii 1, 419 ; 



Haines in Bot. Bihar & Orissa 1001 {erronee attribuens combinationem 



Stapf io).— Panicum flavidum, Retz. Obs. iv (1786), 15 ; Griff. Notul. iii, 33 ; Ic. 



PI. As. t. 139, fig. 67 ; Duthie Grass. N. W. Ind. 3, Indig. Fodd. Grass, t. vi, 



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