370 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



Vilfa jacquemontii Trin. Mem. Acad. St. Petersb. VI. Sci. Nat. 4 1 : 92. 1840. 



Vilfa indica Trin. ; Steud. Norn. Bot. ed. 2. 2: 767. 1841. 



Culms erect, 0.6 to 1 meter tall, in large clumps with numerous leafy shoots 

 at the base; panicle 15 to 30 cm. long, the slender branches ascending, the short- 

 pediceled spikelets mostly borne along the lower side. Often forming an 

 almost pure stand on open slopes, an important constituent of native pastures. 



Grassy hills and dry savannas, Bahamas and Mexico to northern South 

 America. Originally described from Jamaica. Spoj^obolus lamarckii was de- 

 scribed from " India Occidentali " and S. jacquemontii from Santo Domingo. 

 Found throughout the West Indies. In Cuba called " espartillo " and " espar- 

 tillo fino." 



9. Sporobolus berteroanus (Trin.). 



lAgrostis tcnuissima Spreng. Syst. Yeg. 1: 258. 1825, not Sporobolus tcnuis- 

 simus (Schrank) Kuntze, 1898. 



Vilfa berteroana Trin. Mem. Acad. St. Petersb. VI. Sci. Nat. 4 1 : 100. 1840. 



Sporobolus angustus Buckl. Proc. Acad. Phila. 1862: 88. 1862. 



Resembling the preceding, the panicle narrower, the shorter densely flowered 

 branches erect. The abundant reddish ripe grains extruded from the glumes 

 often remain attached to the panicle by their mucilaginous coats. 



Open, mostly moist ground and waste places, southern United States to South 

 America, apparently introduced in the West Indies. Originally described from 

 Santo Domingo; Agrostis tenuissima described from the West Indies, and S. an- 

 us from Texas. This species has been included with the preceding under 

 Sporobolus indicus, and by some botanists 1 has been described as Sporobolus 

 indicus, while the preceding species has been distinguished as Sporobolus 

 jacquemontii. Often affected by a black fungus. 



Bermuda, Bahamas (New Providence), Cuba, Jamaica, Porto Rico, St. Croix, 

 St. Jan, Tortol% Antigua, Montserrat, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Grenada, Trini- 

 dad, and Tobago. 



10. Sporobolus purpurascens (Swartz) Hamilt. Prodr. PI. Ind. Occ. 5. 1§25. 

 Agrostis purpurascens Swartz, Prodr. Yeg. Ind. Occ. 25. 1788. 



Tilfa purpurascens Beauv. Ess. Agrost. 16, 182. 1812. 



Vilfa grisebacliiana Fourn. Mex. PI. 2: 98. 1886. 



Culms slender, erect, tufted, with numerous short leaves at base, naked 

 above, the blades flat, rather thin : panicle 10 to 15 cm. long, the short branches 

 in usually rather distant whorls, spikelet-bearing to the base. 



Grassy slopes, southern United States, eastern Mexico, Cuba (Province of 

 Pinar del Rio), and Jamaica (Blue Mountains). Originally described from 

 Jamaica. The type of Vilfa grisebacliiana is Wright 3427 from Cuba. — 



11. Sporobolus cubensis Hitchc. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 12: 237. 1909. — ._ 



Differs from the preceding in having long firm involute blades and pyramidal 



panicles, the branches commonly 2 to 3 cm. long, naked at base. 



Sandy barrens, Cuba (Province of Pinar del Rio and Isle of Pines) and Porto 

 Rico (Mayaguez. Heller 4590) ; also in Venezuela. Originally described from 

 Isle of Pines, the type being Curtiss 392. 



68. POLYPOGON Desf. 

 Spikelets short-pedicellate ; glumes awned, exceeding the short-awned lemma. 



Plants annual; panicle dense and silky 1. P. monspeliensis. 



Plants perennial ; panicle lobed or interrupted, not silky 2. ?. littoralis, 



1 Griseb. Fl. Brit. W. Ind. 533. 1864. 



