76 A MANUAL OF FARM GRASSES 



Indian couch. In the Hawaiian Islands, it is called 

 manienie (ma-ne-a-ne-a) . 



Botanical Name. — Capriola Dactylon (L.) Kuntze; 

 Cynodon Dactylon Pers.; Panicum Dactylon L. There 

 is but one common species of the genus and this is 

 widely distributed in the warm regions of both hemis- 

 pheres. The name Capriola comes from a Latin word for 

 goat, probably given becausfe goats feed on the grass. 

 The specific name Dactylon is a reference to the inflores- 

 cence, from the Greek word for finger, the spikes spread- 

 ing from one point like the fingers on the hand. The 

 other generic name, Cynodon, in common use, means 

 dog-tooth, given probably because of the old pointed 

 sheaths on the stolons and rootstocks. The giant 

 Bermuda is Capriola Dactylon var. maritima. 



