236 Jour., Bom. Nat. Hist. Soc, Vol. XXXIII, No. 2 {Feb. 15, 1S29., 



67. Danthonia, Lam. & DC. Fl. Franc. 3 (1805), 32 ; Hitchcock Genera 

 of Grass, of Unit. St. in Bull 772 Unit. St. Dept. Agric. (1920), 118. 



Annual or perennial grasses, tufted, low or moderately tall. Panicle few- 

 flowered, open or spike like of rather large spikelets. Spikelets 3-many-flowered, 

 with the uppermost florets reduced, erect, not jointed on their pedicels. Rha- 

 chilla hairy, readily disarticulating above the involucral glumes and between 

 the flowering glumes, produced beyond the uppermost glume. Lower involu- 

 cral glumes empty, subequal, as long as the whole spikelet, persistent, keeled, 

 acute or acuminate, 3-9-(rarely 1-) nerved. Flowering glumes dorsally rounded, 

 ciliate, 7-9-nerved, 2-fid, lobes acute, usually extending into slender awns, a 

 stout awn arising in che sinus ; awn flat, tightly twisted below, geniculate, 

 exserted, including 3 nerves of the glume ; pale broad. Lodicules 2, fleshy. 

 Stamens 3. Styles free. Grain free within the membranous or hardened glume 

 and pale. 



Species about 100.— In the temperate regions of both hemispheres, especially 

 abundant in S. Africa. 



1. Danthonia Gammiei, Bhide in Journ. & Proc. As. Soc. Beng. new series, vii 

 (1911), 513. 



Description : Stem 10-60 cm. high, nodes glabrous. Leaves linear, glabrous 

 below, sparsely long-ciliate above, 2*5-7*5 cm. by 2*5-3 mm., base rounded; 

 ligule a very narrow, truncate, fimbriate membrane ; sheaths glabrous ; upper 

 leaves very much reduced in size. Peduncle and rhachis hairy ; panicle lax, 

 racemose, 2*5-5 cm. by 12-16 mm. Spikelets few, short-pedicelled, about 

 18 mm. long excluding the awns. Involucral glumes empty, lanceolate, 

 acuminate, lower one strongly 5-nerved, dorsally rounded , glabrous, subscoria- 

 ceous, margins membranous ; upper one by 3 shorter than the lower, membran- 

 ous, 3-nerved. Lower floral glume without the awns much smaller than the 

 involucral glumes, terete, convolute, 7-9-nerved, dorsally villous all over, 

 2- dentate with a stout broad median awn ; column of awn golden yellow, twisted 

 and shining, tail minutely scabrid, dorsally narrowly 2-channelled ; teeth 

 produced into small slender awns reaching as far as the column of the median 

 awn, with a fringe of long white hairs at the junction of the lateral awns with 

 the glume ; rhachilla produced and terminating in a minute, ciliate, awned or 

 awnless barren glume (upper floral glume) ; lodicules membranous, half as 

 long as the anthers, oblong, emarginate. Stamens 3. Styles 2, distinct. 

 Anthers and plumose stigmas protruding from the top of flowering glume. 



Locality : Kanara : Castle Rock (Gammie !) ; Jog to Siddhapur, open grass 

 land on rocky soil (McCann A50 !, A51 !) ; Mirjan, laterite flats ( Haliberg 

 A49!). 



Distribution : So far endemic. 



68. Phragmites, Adans. Fam. PI. ii (1763), 34, 559 ; Cke. ii, 1006 

 {Phragmites, Trim). 



Some European authors have taken up Tirickoon, Roth. Archiv. Bot. Roemer 

 i, pt. 3 (1798), 37 as antedating Phragmites, Trin. Fund. Agrost. (1820), 134. 

 The latter name, however, dates from Adanson (1763) and should be retained. 

 Cf. M. L. Fernald. The Generic name Phragmites in Rhodora 24 (1922), 55-56. 

 Also : Hitchcock. Genera of Grass. Unit. St. in Bull. 772 Unit. St. Dept. Agric. 

 (1920), 64. 



Species 3. One in tropical Asia, one in S. America and one cosmopolitan. 



1. Phragmites Karka, Trin. ex Steud. Norn. ed. 2, pt. ii (1841), 324 ; Cke. ii, 

 1007.— For synonyms see Hook. f. vii, 304. 



Description : Cke. I.e. 



Locality: Sind: Keti (Blatter & McCann D652!, D653!); Tatta, Kullan 

 Kote Lake (Blatter & McCann D654 !). Gujarat: Mahals-Dangs, by a stream, 

 800 ft., rainfall 100 inches (Sedgwick & Bell 5390 !) ; Anjar, Cutch (Blatter 

 3740 \).—Kkandesh: Bhusawal, N. E. Tapti River (Blatter & Haliberg 4436 !) ; 

 Chanseli Hill, N. slope, watercourse (McCann A44 !, A45 !) —Deccan : Dhond 

 (Woodrow).— S. M. Country : Banks of Warda River, Bangalore Road, 1,800 

 ft., rainfall 33 inches (Sedgwick 2092 !); Haveri (Talbot 2178 !, 2198 !).— Kanara: 

 Supa, 2.100 ft. (Talbot 2195 !). 



