PLATE 46S. 



Brachypodium flexum, Nees. (Fl. Cap., Vol. VII., p. 736). 



Nat. Order Gramiuese. 



Perennial. — Culms often abundantly branched below, ascending from a geni- 

 culate (often decumbent and rooting) base, very slender, 1|- to more than 2 feet 

 long, glabrous or scantily hairy just below the nodes, smooth, 5 to 7-noded, interme- 

 diate and upper internodes exserted, uppermost the longest ; sheaths tight, striate, 

 . spreadingly hairy along the margins^ otherwise very sparingly hairy or glabrous, 

 excepting a fin^y tomentose line at the junction with the blade and the densely 

 tomentose or villous (rarely finely pubescent) nodes, lowest sheaths finally thrown 

 aside ; ligules extremely short, up to ^ line long, truncate, brownish. Blades 

 linear, long tapering to a very fine point, 2 to 5 inches, by 1^ to 3 lines, flat, 

 glaucous, isubrigid to almost flaccid, spreadingly hairy on the upper side, less so or 

 glabrous and scabrid or scaberulous on the lower side ; false spike erect or nodding, 

 usually flexuous, 2-ranked, 9 to 1-spiculate, up to 4 inches long ; rhachis very slender, 

 strongly compressed, striate, slightly rough or smooth except along the scabrid 

 margins ;, pedicels very short, up to f line long, finely puberulous to almost glabrous. 



Spikelets usually more or less spreading, ^ to 1^ inch long, glabrous, very 

 rarely sparingly pubescent, 7 to 16-flowered. 



Glumes acute to acuminate, lower subulate to subulate-lanceolate, 1 J to almost 

 3 lines long, 4-5- (rarely 3) nerved, upper lanceolate to oblong, 2j to more than B^ 

 lines long, 7-nerved, nerves very prominent. Valves lanceolate, acuminate, gradually 

 narrowed into the awn, 3 to 4 lines long, rather firm, finely scaberulous, rarely 

 subpubescent above, 7-nerved ; awn up to 3 J lines long, shorter in the lower florets. 

 Pales 3^ to almost 4 lines long, rigidly ciliate in the upper part ; anthers over 1^ 

 line long, linear. 



Var. simplex (Stapf). — Culms simple, up to more than 2 feet high, erect, rough 

 from minute reversed hairs to reversedly hirsute, rarely smooth towards the panicle. 

 Panicle up to ^ foot long, flexuous. Spikelets erect or spreading, up to if inch 

 long, and to 18-flowered, glabrous, scaberulous. Glumes and valves by about ^ to. 

 J longer than in the type. 



Edbitdt : Natal. Var. simplex, Umsinga and base of Biggarsberg, Buchanan 

 104 ; on the Drakensberg, near Newcastle, Buchana?i 198 ; without precise locality, 

 Buchanan 60, 61 ;' Van Reenen, 5500 feet alt.. Wood 8885 ; Zululand, Swanfield. 

 Var. tenue, Urapumulo, 2100 feet alt., Buchanan 233; without precise locality, 

 Buchanan 79. 



Drawn from Wood's 8885. 



Fig 1, Lower glumeupper ; 2, glume ; 3, valve and callus ; 4, valve opened ; 5, pale ; 6, 

 pistil, stamens and Ipdicules. All enlavffed. 



