335 
repeatedly been pointed out by Schimmel & Co, in their Semi- 
annual Reports, that the West Indian, West African and Brazilian 
products are inferior to good ‘Kast Indian’ lemon-grass oil on 
account of their inferior solubility in alcohol, and their low citral- 
content. A recent note in the Tropical Agriculturist (August, 
1906, p. 141) leads to the same conclusion with regard to the 
Ceylon lemon-grass oil, samples of which have been tested at the 
Government Experimental Station at Peradeniya. The explanation 
of those discrepancies lies evidently in the fact, that the good 
‘East Indian’ lemon-grass oil is the oil of CO. fleauosus, whilst 
the ‘inferior’ kind is the product of CO. citratus. 
8. Cymbopogon Martini, Stapf. 
(Andropogon Martini, Roxb.) 
Geranium Gras®—Rusa (Hind.). 
FOUNDATION OF THE SPECIES.—During the war of 1790-1792 
against Tipu Sultan, Claude Martin,* who joined the expedition in 
1791 as a Commissioner of Provisions and Aide-de-camp to Lord 
Cornwallis, collected “ in the highlands of Ballaghat”’ the seeds of a 
grass which had struck him owing to its excellenceas a fodder-plant, 
as well as on account of its pungent taste and aromatic odour, which 
was so strong as to impart itself to the milk of the cows which fed 
on it. From the seeds he raised an abundant crop at Lucknow. 
He also supplied Roxburgh “ with a small stalk, roots and seed.” 
The “small stalk” is not preserved ; but Roxburgh grew the 
grass from the seed in the Calcutta Botanic Garden, and of the 
Specimens thus raised there are two at the British Museum, one 
from Roxburgh’s herbarium, the other from General Hardwicke’s 
collection. The first is named ‘Andropogon Martini’ in 
Roxburgh’s own hand, the other, under the same name, bears 
the date 18th February, 1789. The name did not appear in print 
until 1814,f whilst the description, although evidently written 
before 1799, was only published in 1820. The description is rather 
vague ; but so far as it goes, it agrees fairly well with Roxburgh’s 
type in the British Museum, and there would have been no 
difficulty in exactly identifying Martin’s plant, but for the fact 
that there exists in Roxburgh’s collection at Kew, a coloured 
drawing (No. 1,095) which is also written up as Andropogon 
Martini by Roxburgh himself; this drawing certainly repre- 
Sents another grass. Nees,{ who seems to have seen the drawing, 
identified it with the plant distributed by Wight (No. 1,700c) 
under the name “ Andropogon (Cymb.) caesius, N.E., y. elatior, 
culmo erecto, firmo,” but the name Nees gives it is “ Andropogon 
(Cymb.) Martini, Roxb., y. elatior, culmo firmo erecto.” I am 
inclined to agree with Nees so far as the identity of the figure with 
Wight’s No. 1,700c is concerned ; but both names are certainly 
misapplied, the plant in question being actually C. coloratus, a 
member of the ‘ Nardus’ group (see p. 321). There is also 
another and very similar coloured drawing in Royle’s collection 
* Roxburgh, Fl. Ind., ed. Carey & Wall., vol. i. (1820), p. 280. 
+ Roxburgh, Hort. Beng. (1814), p. 7. . 
+ Nees in Meyen, Obs. Bot. (Noy. Act. Leop. Carol. Nat. Cur. vol. xix., suppl. ii. 
1843), p. 190, 
