HITCHCOCK AND CHASE — GRASSES OF THE WEST INDIES. 383 



Leptochloa mucronata Kunth, R6v. Gram. 1: 91. 1829. 



Leptocliloa brachiata Steud. Syn. PI. Glum. 1: 209. 1854. 



Culms ascending or erect, geniculate below, branching at the base, com- 

 monly 40 to 70 cm. tall (dwarf specimens 10 to 20 cm. tall) ; blades thin, flat; 

 racemes very slender, spreading. 



Fields and open ground, Virginia to California, south to South America. 

 Originally described from tropical America. Eleusine mucronata was de- 

 scribed from Illinois ; Leptochloa brachiata from Guadeloupe. A common weed 

 in fields throughout the West Indies, except the Bahamas. Leptochloa mucro- 

 nata var. multiflora Eggers * is listed, without description, from St. Croix. 



2. Leptochloa scabra Nees, Agrost. Bras. 435. 1829. 



Resembling the preceding but the inflorescence narrower, commonly taller 

 and more robust, the spikes less slender, ascending, flexuous, the spikelets larger. 



Ditches and shallow swamps, Louisiana, Porto Rico, Trinidad, Tobago, and 

 Central America, to Brazil, whence originally described. 



3. Leptochloa fascicularis (Lam.) A. Gray, Man. 588. 1848. 

 Festuca fascicularis Lam. Tabl. Encycl. 1 : 189. 1791. 



_^Festuca polystachya Michx. Fl. Bor. Amer. 1: 66. 1803. 



' Semiaquatic; culms tufted, 30 to 100 cm. tall, branching, the subinvolute 

 blades overtopping the inflorescence ; spikelets 7 to 9 mm. long, the florets awn- 

 tipped. 



Ditches and moist ground, United States, Mexico, and the West Indies. 

 Originally described from South America. 

 Bahamas (New Providence, Great Exuma), Cuba, Jamaica, and St. Croix. 



4. Leptochloa uninervia (Presl). 



Megastachya uninervia Presl, Rel. Haenk. 1: 283. 1830. 



Diplachne verticillata Nees & Mey. Nov. Act. Nat. Cur. 19. Suppl. 1: 158. 1843. 



Atropis carinata Griseb. Abh. Ges. Wiss. Gottingen 24: 291. 1879. 



Leptochloa imbricata Thurb. Bot. Calif. 2: 293. 1880. 



Leptochloa virletii Fourn. Mex. PI. 2: 147. 1886. 



Diplachne tarapacana Phil. Anal. Mus. Nac. Chili Bot. 8: 88. 1891. 



Rabdochloa imbricata Kuntze, Rev. Gen. PI. 3 : 788. 1891. 



Diplachne carinata Hack. Bol. Acad. Nac. Cienc. Cordoba 16: 253. 1900. 



Similar to L. fascicularis in habit, the racemes rather more densely flowered, 

 the lemmas obtuse. 



Ditches and wet open ground, southwestern United States and south to 

 Argentina and Chile. In the West Indies known only from Jamaica (Salt 

 Ponds, Harris 12309, 12311). 



Originally described from Mexico; Diplachne verticillata and D. tarapacana 

 were described from Chile, Leptochloa imbricata from California, L. virletii from 

 Mexico, and Atropis carinata from Argentina. 



5. Leptocliloa nealleyi Vasey, Bull. Torrey Club 12: 7. 1885. 

 Leptochloa stricta Fourn. Mex. PI. 2: 147. 1886. 



Tall, slender, glabrous, the culms flattened, the sheaths keeled, the involute 

 blades scabrous ; panicle long, narrow, the pale densely flowered suberect racemes 

 commonly 2 to 3 cm. long. 



Wet woods, Texas, Mexico, and Cuba (Tiffin, Shafer 2904). Originally de- 

 scribed trom Texas. Leptochloa stricta was described from Veracruz, Mexico. 



6. Leptochloa virgata (L.) Beauv. Ess. Agrost. 166. 1812. 

 Cynosurus virgatus L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 2: 87. 1759. 



1 Vidensk. Medd. Naturhist. Forening. Copenhagen III. 8: 151. 1876. 

 47877°— 17 9 



