HITCHCOCK AND CHASE — NOBTH AMERICAN PANICUM. 



73 



DESCRIPTION. 



Fig. 59.— P. aiffusum. 

 specimen. 



From type 



Plants in small, dejase tufts, spreading, or ascending from a decumbent base, simple 

 or sparingly branching, rarely repeatedly branching, 25 to 50 cm. high; culms slender, 

 wiry, glabrous, the nodes appressed-pubescent; sheath g 

 shorter than the internodes, striate, glabrous, or pubes 

 cent along the margin toward the summit or the lower 

 sparsely so throughout; ligules about 1 mm. long; blades 

 erect from the sheath but often spreading at the ends, 5 

 to 20 cm. long, 1 to 3 mm. wide, flat or drying subinvo- 

 lute, sparsely pilose on the upper surface, glabrous or 

 sparingly pubescent beneath; panicles exserted, 5 to 10 

 cm. long, nearly as wide, the few capillary branches at 

 first ascending, stiffly spreading at maturity, bearing 

 a few short-pediceled spikelets toward the ends; spike- 

 lets 2.1 to 2.5 mm. long, about 1 mm. wide; first glume about half the length of the 

 spikelet, acute, 5-nerved; second glume and sterile lemma 7 to 9-nerved; fruit 1.5 

 to 1.6 mm. long, 0.9 mm. wide, elliptic. 



A collection from Santo Domingo, Wright, Parry & Brummel 627, is doubtfully 

 referred here. It consists of tall plants, 60 to 70 cm. high, with spikelets 2.8 to 3 mm. 

 long. The blades are narrow as in P. dijfusum, but hirsute on both surfaces as in 

 P. ghiesbreghtii. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



Savannas and borders of open woods, West Indies. 



Bahamas: New Providence, Britton & Brace 424. 



Cuba: Habana, Leon 190, 305 in part, 923, 923b; Santiago de las Vegas, Baler & 

 Wilson 511, Tracy 9111, Van Hermann 1444, Wilson 1405; Triscornia, Tracy 

 9082; Guanajay, Palmer & Riley 802; Prov. of Santa Clara, Leon 923c; with- 

 out locality, Wright 3852, 3860 in part, 3877; Isle of Pines, Nueva Gerona, 

 Curtiss 384, 494. 



Danish West Indies: St. Thomas, Eggers in 1882. 



Windward Islands: Martinique, Duss 536. 



34. Panicum filipes Scribn. 



Panicum filipes Scribn. in Heller, Contr. Herb. Frankl. Marsh. Coll. 1:13, 1895. 

 " Growing in rich shaded ground in the upper part of the 'Arroyo,' at Corpus Christi," 



Texas. The type, in Hitchcock's herbarium, was col- 

 lected May 31, 1894, by A. A. Heller, no. 1809. The 

 panicle is rather more lax and has longer, more delicate 

 branchlets than usual in the species, and spikelets 2.5 

 to 2.6 mm. long. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Fig. 60.— P. filipes. From type 

 specimen. 



Plants pale green, in small dense tufts, erect or 

 ascending, 30 to 80 cm. high; culms simple or spar- 

 ingly branching, stiff, glabrous except the appressed- 

 pubescent nodes; sheaths shorter than the internodes, 

 glabrous or sparsely appressed-hispid toward the sum- 

 mit; ligules about 1.5 mm. long; blades thin, ascend- 

 ing or laxly spreading, 10 to 25 cm. long, 3 to 8 mm. wide, flat, glaucous and glabrous 

 on the upper surface, glabrous beneath or very sparsely papillose-hirsute; panicles 

 exserted, usually equaled or exceeded by the uppermost blades, 7 to 25 cm. long, 

 about as wide, the distant branches spreading, the branchlets rather more numerous 

 and the spikelets usually longer-pediceled than in P. diffusum; spikelets 2 to 2.6 mm. 



