HOLE : SOME INDIAN GRASSES AND THEIR CECOLOGY. 69 



Ref. — Griffith, Itinerary Notes, 316. 



Description. — Cespitosum. Culmi 2 m., vel paulo altiores, farcti. Vaginae 

 non hirsutae, nodis imberbibus, laminis glaucis anguste linearibus 

 usque ad 8 mm. latis. Racemorum rhachis fragilis. Spiculae ad 

 quemvis rhacheos nodum binae, altera sessilis cum articulo aecum- 

 bent^ demum decidens, altera pedicel) ata, a pedicello demum soluta, 



utraque imiflora, $ . 



Spiculae 4 — 6 mm. longae, muticae. 



Pedicelli articulique spiculis breviores. 



Pedicelli plerumque articulos proprios subaequantes vel eis 

 longiores. 



Callus villis gilvis spiculas subaequantibus vel eis brevioribus 

 dense vestitus. 



Gluma I a et IT et sessilis et pedicellatae spiculae chartaceo-mem- 

 branaceae pilis glumas non, vel vix, superantibus dorso villosae. 



Gluma I1T dorso nunc glabra nunc parce hirsuta. 



Gluma IV a mucronata. Mucro usque ad 1*5 mm. longus non ab 

 apice spiculae exsertus. 



Afghanistan : Griffith, 1193. 



Aitchison, 271, 467, 546. 



Baluchistan : Stocks, 1209. 



Punjab : Attock, Herb. Falconer, 666. 



Sindh : fide Hackel, I.e., 119. 



Notes. — Aitchison (I.e., 143) writes as follows regarding this species : " Along 

 the edges of the dry water-courses, and on the higher island-like 

 plots of ground in the beds of these dried-up streams, Saccharum 

 GriffitMi, a great coarse stiff grass, occurring in large tussocks, is 

 very striking, owing to the absence of other vegetation generally 

 than to any peculiarity of its own." 



From what has been said above it will be clear that there has been some confusion 

 between S. arundinaceum, S. Munja, S. Griffithii and Erianthus Ravennce. As S. Munja 

 is of considerable economic importance it is obviously desirable that the characters distin- 

 guishing it from the other less valuable species should be clearly denned. 



[ 69 ] 



