Sept. 30, 1928.] Revision of the Flora of the Bombay Presidency 13 



Enuni. PL i, S7.—M. tomeuiosum, Koen. ex Rottl. in Ges. Naturf. Fr. Neue 

 Schr. iv (1803), 220 ; Steud. Syn. Gram. 34 ; Kunth I.e. 66. 



Description : Cke.l.c. 



Locality : S. M. Country : Badami (Woodrow teste Cooke ; Bhide ! ). 



Distribution : W. Peninsula. 



*8. Panicum maximum, Jacq. Ic. i, 2, t. 13 ; Collect. i r 76 ; Trin, Pan. Gen. 

 180, and in Mem. Acad. Petersb. 6 ser. iii, 268 ; Nees FL Afr. Austr. 36 ; 

 Steud. Syn. PL Glum, i, 72 ; Griseb. FL Brit. West Ind. 549 ; Doell in Mart. 

 FL Bras, ii, ii, 202: Aitchis. Cat. Panjab PI. 159; Baker FL Maurit. 436; 

 Boiss. FL ur. v, 439 ; Hook. f. F.B.I, vii, 49 ; Trim. FL Ceyl. v, 153 ; Stapf in 

 Dyer FL Cap. vii, 404; Cke. ii, 939; Haines in Bot. Bihar & Orissa 995; 

 Stapf in Prain FL Trop. Afr. ix, 655.— P. maximum var. hirsutissimum, Oliv. 

 in Trans. Linn. Soc. xxix, Bot- 171.— P. maximumvar. obtusissimum, Stapf in 

 Cheval. Sudania 161, 163. — P. polygamum, Sw. Prodr. Ind. Occ. 24.— P. laeve 9 

 Lara. 111. i, 112.— P. jumentorum, Pers. Syn. i, -3 ; H.B. & K. Nov. Gen. & 

 Sp. i, 104 ; Duthie Grass. N. W. Ind. 5, Fodd. Grass N. Ind. 9.— P. altissimum^ 

 Brouss. Elench. Hort. Monsp. (1805), 42 (non Meyer) ; Dalz. & Gibs. Bomb. 

 FL Supples.-/ 5 , trichocondylum, Steud. Syn. PI. Glum, i, 74.— P. pample- 

 moussense, Steud. l.c 71.— P. hirsutissimum, Steud. I.e. 72. — P. giganteum y 

 Mez in Engl. Jahrb. xxiv, 143. 



Vern, Name : Guinea Grass. 



Description: A perennial, densely tufted grass, up to 3 m. high. Culms 

 erect or geniculate-suberect, usually stout, 3-4 noded, simple or sparingly 

 branched with the branches erect, terete or compressed below, usually quite 

 glabrous and smooth, more rarely more or less hirsute and rough from the 

 tubercular hair-bases. Leaves glabrous or more or less softly hairy or coarsely 

 hirsute with tubercle-based hairs. Sheaths rather firm, the lower compressed, 

 the others terete and tight, often bearded at the mouth and usually so at the 

 nodes, rarely the nodes quite glabrous. Ligule membranous, very short, ciliolate 

 usually with dense hairs from behind it. Blades linear from an equally wide or 

 very gradually narrowed and shortly contracted base, long-tapering to a fine 

 point, 10--60 cm. by 4-18 or even 25 mm., flat, margins scaberulous to spinu- 

 lously scabrid, midrib prominent below, whitish and shallow ly channelled 

 above, primary nerves up to 9 on each side. Panicle erect or nodding,, 

 contracted or open, from 10 to over 45 cm. long, glabrous or more often 

 villosulous at the lower nodes and motile branch bases, divided to the 4th or 

 5th degree, all the divisions filiform to capillary, often more of less wavy,, 

 angular and scabrid or the larger smooth downwards ; primary axis compa- 

 ratively slender, smooth, terete and often fluted below, scaberulous upwards ; 

 lower primary branches whorled, suberect or spreading, up to 30 cm. long, 

 mostly remotely divided from 2*5-7'5 cm. above the base, their lower branch- 

 lets often up to 7*5 cm. long, flexuous and remotely divided or like the rest 

 rather short and contracted ; penultimate divisions usually closely 2-3-spiculate 

 with the lateral pedicels shorter than the clustered spikelets, more rarely loose 

 to very loose with the pedicels several times longer, all the pedicels very fine 

 with small subcupular tips. Spikelets oblong, subobtuse to acute, somewhat 

 turgid, broadly rounded on the back, 3-4*5 or sometimes 4 mm. long, light 

 green or tinged with purple, glabrous or rarely more or less densely pubescent. 

 Involucral glumes dissimilar, faintly nerved. Lower rounded or shortly acute 

 or minutely apiculate, about \ to \ the length of the spikelet, hyaline, 3-1- 

 nerved or almost nerveless. Upper corresponding in shape and size to the 

 spikelet, membranous, 5-nerved. Lower floral glume male, like the upper 

 involucral glume, 7-nerved, pale slightly shorter, oblong, obtuse. Upper floret 

 hermaphrodite, oblong, shortly acute up to almost 3 mm. long, whitish, glume 

 and pale thinly crustaceous, finely transversely rugose except on the flexures. 

 Anthers 1-1 5 mm. long. Grain over 1 mm. long." 



Locality : Widely cultivated, chiefly in Gujarat and Sind. 



Distribution : Indigenous in tropical and S. Africa, Madagascar, the 

 Mascarenes and in Yemem. Introduced into India and America. 



Uses : An excellent fodder grass. 



9. Panicum palud>sum, Roxb. Fl. Ind. i (1832), 307 (non Nees) ; Wall. Cat. 

 no. 8711 ; Griff. Notul. 37, Ic. PL Asiat. t. 139. f. 127 ; Duthie Fodd. Grass. N. 

 Ind. 1L— P. proliferum, Hook. f. in F.B.I, vii, 50 (non ham.)— P. proliferum, 



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