HITCHCOCK AND CHASE NORTH AMERICAN PANICUM. 



327 



Cuba: Laguna Castillano, Baker 4334 ; Sancti Spiritus, Leon 903; without locality, 



Wright 3466. 

 Jamaica: Gordon Town, Hart 726; Port Antonio, Maxon 2109. 

 Colombia: Santa Marta, Smith 169. 

 Venezuela: Tovar, Fendler 1634 (Gray Herb.). 

 Tobago: Eggers 5810. 



Trinidad: Broadway 2563, Botanic Gardens Herb. 2286, 3188. 

 British Guiana: Jenman 6001. 

 Dutch Guiana: Surinam, Hostmann (Gray Herb.). 

 Brazil: Santarem, Spruce 706; San Gabriel da Cachoeira, Spruce 2344; Organ 



Mountains, Wilkes Expl. Exped. 8; Rio Janeiro, Widgren in 1844; without 



locality, Riedel 960. 

 Paraguay: Morong 536, 1001. 

 Ecuador: Recreo, Eggers 15422 (Field Mus. Herb.). 



196. Panicum gymnocarpon Ell. 



Panicum gymnocarpon Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. 1: 117. 1816. "Collected near 

 Savannah, by Dr. Baldwin." The type, in the Elliott Herbarium, consists of the 

 upper part of a culm, being a panicle and the uppermost leaf. 



Panicum monachnoides Desv. Opusc. 86. 1831. "Habitat in Brasilio." The type 

 is in the Desvaux Herbarium. The locality given is doubtless an error as is the case 

 with many of Desvaux's specimens. 



Panicum drummondii Nees; Steud. Syn. PI. Glum. 1 : 63. 1854. il Drum[m]ond legit 

 in N. Orleans." In the Berlin Herbarium is a specimen labeled "Panicum Drum- 

 mondii N. ab E. in Herb. Lindh. New Orleans n. 574," which is probably the type. 

 Phanopyrum gymnocarpum Nash in Small, Fl. Southeast. U. S. 104. 1903. Based 

 on Panicum, gymnocarpon Ell. Rafinesque« proposed Phanopyrum as a section of 

 Panicum, including the single species P. gymnocarpon. 

 This section was raised to generic rank by Nash,& the dis- 

 tinguishing characters being the acuminate equal glumes 

 and the short fertile lemma. This species departs somewhat 

 from the usual characters of the genus Panicum, but the 

 divergence does not seem sufficient to justify segregating 

 the single species as the type of a separate genus. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Plants perennial, with a succulent, decumbent or creep- 

 ing base, sometimes as much as 2 meters long, rooting at 

 the nodes, glabrous throughout; culms erect or ascending, 

 60 to 100 cm. high, rather thick and succulent, nodes often 

 dark colored ; sheaths shorter than the internodes, sometimes 

 ciliate near the summit, ligules membranaceous, about 1 mm. 

 longj decurrent down the margin of the sheath; blades linear- 

 lanceolate, 20 to 35 cm. long, or the upper and lower shorter, 

 usually 15 to 25 mm. wide, flat, scarcely narrowed at the 

 cordate, sparingly ciliate base, narrowed from about the mid- 

 dle to the acute apex, margins very scabrous; panicles finally 

 exserted, 20 to 40 cm. long, about three-fourths as wide, con- 

 sisting of several to many racemes, solitary or fascicled along 

 a main axis, the racemes stiffly ascending, or somewhat spreading, the middle 8 to 

 12 cm. or occasionally as much as 18 cm. long, usually spikelet-bearing from base, 

 the spikelets short-pediceled on short, appressed branchlets, thus appearing in 



FIG. 368.— P. gymnocarpon. 

 From type specimen. 



a Bull. Bot. Seringe 220. 1830. 



b Small, Fl. Southeast, U. S. 104. 1903. 



