Sept. 30 1928.] Revision of the Flora of the Bombay Presidency 25 



Origin : Unknown. See Leeke. Untersuchungen uber Abstammung nnd 

 Heimat der Negerhirse. 



8. Pennisetum purpureum, Schum. & Thonn. Beskr. Guin. PI. 44 ; Stapf in 

 Kew Bull. (MZ), 309. — P. macrostachyum, Hook. Niger Flora 563. —P. 

 Benihamii, Steud. Syn. PI. Glum, i, 105.— P. nitens, Hack, in Bol. Soc. Brot. vi 

 (1888), 142. — Gymnothrix nitens, Anderss. in Peters Reise nach Mossamb. vi 

 (1881), 552.— Pennisetum f lexis pica, K. Schum. in Engl. Pflanzenw. Ost.-Afr. 

 C (1895), 105. 



Popular Name : Elephant Grass. 



Description: Perennial. Rhizome creeping. Culms erect, in tufts of up to 

 20, 2-3 m. or occasionally up to 7 m. high by P2-2-5 cm. diam. at the base ; 

 branches obliquely erect, terete, glabrous, smooth, excepting the upper part of 

 the uppermost interi ode which is more or less hairy to tomentcse, exserted 

 parts sometimes covered with a glaucous bloom ; nodes mostly exserted from 

 the sheaths, all glabrous or most of them or only the uppermost with a ring of 

 stiff, long, appressed hairs. Leaf-blade linear, inserted on the sheath with a 

 very marked hinge-fold, tapering upwards to a fine point, 30-60, rarely to 90 

 cm. long by 2'5 cm. diam., with a strong midrib, rounded or the back with a 

 shallow channel above towards the base, and in the larger leaves with 6 or 7 

 slightly prominent primary nerves on each side, dull green, sometimes slightly 

 glaucous or tinged with purple, more or less rough on both sides, glaucous 

 beneath, usually more or less hairy above, especially t< wards the base which 

 sometimes becomes fringed, hairs fine, mosily rather stiff and long and often 

 springing frcm small tubercles ; margins spinulosely scabrid. Sheaths terete, 

 clasping the stem, striate, glabrous and smooth or pubescent to hirsute with 

 tubercle- based hairs near the top. Ligule a narrow rim bearing a dense fringe 

 of white hairs 2 or 3 mm. long. Inflorescence a dense, cylindric, erect spike, 

 8-20 and even 30 cm. long a> d 15-3 cm. diam., yellow or tinged with brown, 

 purple or quite blackish-pu pie, made up of deciduous spikelets or fascicles of 

 spikelets, each spikelet or fascicle surrounded by an involucre of numerous 

 bristles of unequal length, most of them 5-8 mm. long, one usually very much 

 longer (1* 2-2 or exceptionally to 4 cm. long), scabrid, one or several of the 

 innermost and longest sparingly plumose towards the base, rarely all naked, 

 often dark yellow, brownish or purplish towards the tips or blackish-purple 

 from the base. Spikelets sessile or if in fascicles of 2-4, the lateral pedicelled, 

 all lanceolate, more or less acuminate, 5-7 mm. long, glabrous, straw-coloured 

 or tinged with brown or purple towards the tips of the florets, rarely blackish- 

 purple all over, hermaphrodite or, if fascicled, the lateral male, rarely neuter 

 or all hermaphrodite. Lower involucral glume suppressed or quite rudimen- 

 tary, upper ovate to ovate-lanceolate, acute, 0*5-1, rarely to 2 mm. long, 

 subhyaline, 1-nerved or nerveless. Lower floral glume male or more often 

 barren, lanceolate, acute or acuminate, half as long to almost as long as the 

 upper glume, 3-nerved, rarely 1- or 5-, or even 7-nerved, pale linear- 

 lanceolate, 2-nerved, shorter than the glume or in the barren florets reduced or 

 suppressed ; upper hermaphrodite or in the lateral spikelets male, lanceolate, 

 acuminate or rostrate-acuminate, scaberulous upwards, usually 5-nerved, pale 

 narrow, linear-lanceolate, slightly shorter than the glume, tips minutely 

 2-toothed. Lodicules 0. Anthers 2'5-3 mm. long, tips very minutely peni- 

 cillate. Styles united throughout ; stigmas very slender, up to 4 mm. long, 

 exserted from the top of the floret. Mature grain unknown. 



A most variable plant as can be seen from Stapf 's description given above. 

 He refrains from subdividing the species. 



Popular Names : Elephant Grass, Napier's Fodder. 



Locality : Imported into Bombay in 1915. Has been grown at several centres 

 in W. India : Agricultural College Farm, Poona, the Governor's Dairy Farm, 

 Ganeshkhind, the Sewage Effluent Farm at Hadapsar in the Deccan, the 

 Chharodi Cattle Farm in N. Gujarat, and the Willingdon Cattle Farm near 

 Karachi. 



Distribution: Indigenous in tropical Africa between 10° N. Lat. and 20° 

 S. Lat. 



Uses : One of the best fodder-grasses. See Stapf Kew Bull. (1912), 313-316 ; 

 H. H. Mann in Bull. 100 and 127 of the Dept. Agriculture, Bombay; 

 Rhodesian Agric. Journ. vii (1910), 1398. 



( To be continued) 



[19] 



