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ZACATON^ AS A PAPEE-MAKING MATERIAL. 6 



BOTANICAL HISTORY AND SYSTEMATIC POSITION OF ZACATON. 



The genus Epicampes was established by Dr. J. S. Presl, of the 

 University of Prague, in his treatment of the Graminese in 1830.^ 

 The type species of the genus is Epicampes strictus, which Presl 

 figures on plate 39 of his work. 



The following characterization of the genus is taken from Scribner:^ 



Epicampes Presl, Rel. Haenk. 1:235, t. 39. 1830. Spikelets small, 1-flowered. 

 Empty glumes 2, membranaceous, slightly unequal, convex on the back, carinate, 

 often finely 3-nerved; flowering glumes 3-nerved, obtuse or emarginate, a little shorter 

 or about the length of the empty glumes, and tipped with a slender, usually rather 

 short awn, which is rarely wanting. Stamens 3. Styles distinct, short; stigmas 

 plumose. Grain included within the glumes, free. Tall, perennial grasses with 

 usually very long, spikeUke, many-flowered panicles. 



The genus belongs to the tribe Agrostidese of Engler and Prantl,^ 

 to which the true esparto, Stipa tenacissima L., also belongs. This 

 grass is extensively used for paper making in the Old World, the raw 

 material coming chiefly from Spain, Algeria, and Tripoli. The 

 species Epicmnpes macroura * has received several common names, 

 most of which refer to the utihzation of its roots in the manufacture 

 of brushes. Broom-root grass, wire-grass, and rice-root grass are 

 the common EngUsh names. Rice, in this case, has no relation to 

 the well-known rice grain of commerce, but the name arises from the 



1 Presl, K. B. Reliquiae Haenkeanae ... v. 1, p. 235, pi. 39. Pragae, 1830. 



2 Scribner, F. L. American grasses— III. U. S. Dept. Agr., Div. Agros. Bui. 20, p. 75, 1900. 



3 Kaeckel, Ernst. Gramineae (echte Graser). In Engler, Adolf, and Prantl, K, A. E. Die Natiirlichen 

 Pflanzenfamilien ... T. 2, Abt. 2, p. 45, 50. Leipzig, 1887. 



'■ This grass was first brought to the senior writer's attention in December, 1909, by Mr. L. H. Dewey, 

 Botanist in Charge of Fiber Investigations, who transmitted a bundle of the grass tops for possible test. 

 The sample weighed between 2 and 3 poimds and had been sent to Mr. Dewey from Mexico by the Ox Fiber 

 Brush Co. , of Frederick, Md. Subsequently, Mr. O. F. Cook, Bionomist in Charge of Crop Acclimatization 

 and Adaptation Investigations, directed the writer's attention to certain notes of his on Epicampes pre- 

 viously published. (Cook, O. F. Vegetation affected by agriculture in Central America. U. S. Dept. 

 Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. Bui. 145, p. 19-20, 1909.) These notes are of sufficient interest, showing the size, 

 resistance, and aggressiveness of the grass, to warrant quoting them in this cormection. Discussing the 

 distribution of pines and oaks as determined by the clearing of land, Mr. Cook says: 



"Ability to resist fire is the characteristic that enables the pines to establish themselves in open grass lands. 

 Young pines with the growing bud surrounded by many green needles can survive fires that kill seedlings 

 of other plants. As the trees grow larger they are protected by a thickened bark which is a very poor con- 

 ductor of heat and not readily combustible. Nevertheless, the survival of the pines depends on the chance 

 of frequent fires which prevent the accumulation of grass in large quantities. With grass enough to burn, 

 even large pines may be kiUed by fire and the pine forest driven back from areas it has already occupied. 

 In this way a species of wire-grass (Epicampes) is destroying forests of alders and pines on the upper slopes 

 of the Vulcan de Agua in Guatemala. Before the access of fires this grass appears to have been confined to 

 the crater and to the very dry upper slopes, where the pine trees are small and scattering. Now that the 

 belts of humid forests lower down have been broken by clearings the grass has the assistance of fire and is 

 destroying the trees with increasing rapidity. 



"There are no springs or streams on the upper slopes of the volcano, so that the grass is not pastured. Its 

 long wiry stems and leaves accimiulate until there are quantities of fuel sufficient to kill large trees and to 

 drive back the forest for long distances at each conflagration. The lower the grass comes the more luxm"iant 

 its growth and the more destructive the next fire. This will continue as long as the grass is ungrazed or 

 care is not taken to burn the grass every year in order to prevent the accumulation of dangerous quantities 

 of fuel. 



"The roots of this grass are well protected from the fire by masses of the closely packed stems. These 

 tufts remain wet while everything else is thoroughly dried. Except in rainy weather, no water can be 

 obtained from the extremely coarse and loose volcanic ashes and rocks of which the upper parts of the moun- 

 tain are composed." 



