110 ME. G. BENTHAM ON GBAMINE^. 



4. BoissiEHA, Hoclist., is a single Oriental species, which, 

 besides the characters derived from the glumes, has a very short 

 membranous dilated two-lobed style, different from that of every 

 other known grass. 



5. ScHMiDTiA, Steud., contains two species closely resembling 

 each other, one from thB Cape-Verd Islands, the other from 

 tropical and South Africa, with a narrow but loose panicle, and 

 the flowering glumes ending in four inner lanceolate lobes, and 

 live outer subulate lobes or awns. 



Our second subtribe, Triodiem, is not so definite as could be 

 wished. There are usually more than two flowers to the spike- 

 let ; and the flowering glumes have rarely more than three nerves, 

 and end in three teeth, lobes, or awns. These characters are gene- 

 rally very prominent ; but in a few species of Triodia and Dipl- 

 achne the teeth are scarcely more than what occur occasionally 

 in some other subtribes, and in one or two species of Triraphis 

 the nerves of the glumes are more numerous, bringing them 

 technically near to Pappophorese. The panicle in all the genera 

 is usually narrow, dense or loose, but very rarely spike-like, and 

 in a few species loose and spreading. "We include six genera. 



6. Tbiodia, Br. (Uralepis, Nutt.), as at present limited, com- 

 prises about twenty, extratropical species, northern or southern, 

 with a very few extending into the tropics in America or Africa. 

 It has the typical characters of the tribe without the peculiarities 

 of the other genera, the lobes of the flowering glumes reduced to 

 short teeth or points, or the central one rarely lengthened into a 

 short awn. It must be admitted, however, that it is still both a 

 vague and a polymorphous genus, comprising three rather dis- 

 tinct sections and a few anomalous isolated species : — 1. Isotria, 

 three Australian species (J. MitchelU, Benth., I. pungens, Br., 

 and I. Ounninghamii, Benth.) with the three lobes of the flower- 

 ing glumes narrow lanceolate and equal ; 2. Uralepis {Sieglingia, 

 Bernh., Merisacline, Trin.), about sixteen American or Australian 

 species with one European one, in which the lateral teeth of the 

 glumes are broad and not pointed and sometimes very minute, 

 the middle one a point or very short awn ; 3. Tricuspis, Beauv. 

 (Windsoria, Nutt.), three North- American species differing from 

 Uralepis in the nerves of the lateral teeth produced into short 

 points. Besides these, Leptocarydion, Hochst., is an Abyssinian 

 species, T. plumosa {LeptocTiloa plumosa, Anders., Diplachne alo- 

 pecuroides, Hochst.) with the dense soft panicle almost of Tri- 



