DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE. 213 



l-flowered, 1 or 2-seriate, In 3 to 6 digitate slender unilateral spikes, not jointed at the 

 base; grain laterally compressed. , 



This plant is distributed throughout all warm countries. In India it is an impor- 

 tant forage plant and is much used for lawns. On account of its usefulness and beauty 

 the Hindoos have celebrated it in their writings, and the native Hawaiians hold it 

 in great esteem. It thrives where scarcely any other grass will grow, even in poor 

 soil shaded by trees. It is useful in binding down the sand near the sea, and on the 

 low sandy soil of Agafia, the capital of Guanj, it forms beautiful soft turf. When 

 once established in cultivated fields it is hard to eradicate. In India the young 

 leaves are eaten by the natives and a cooling drink is made of the roots. 



It is readily propagated by cuttings. When required for lawns a sufficient quantity 

 can easily be collected from the roadside and waste places. The ground is dug and 

 leveled and the rootstocks cut into small pieces set out at intervals of about 30 centi- 

 meters. The plat should be watered until the grass has established itself. 



"A more expeditious and very successful plan of laying down a lawn is to pull up 

 a quantity of grass by the roots, chop it tolerably fine, mix it well in a compost of 

 mud of about the consistency of mortar, and spread it out thinly over the piece of 

 ground where the lawn is required. In a few days the grass will spring up with 

 great regularity over the plat."" In establishing a pasture the grass should be 

 planted at intervals of 50 centimeters in rows one meter apart. 

 References: 



Capriola dxniylon (L. ) Kuntze, Rev. Gen. 2: 764. 1891. 

 Panicum dactylon L. Sp. PI. 1 : 58. 1753. 

 Oynodon dactylon Pers. Syn. 1 : 85. 1805. 

 Capsicum, annuum. Red peppbh. Cayenne pepper. 



Family Solanaceae. 



Local names. — Doni (Guam); Chile (Philippines); Cahiias, Chile (Mexico); 

 Ajf (Spanish America). 

 A plant of tropical American origin, but escaped from cultivation in many tropical 

 countries of the Old World, where it was once supposed to be indigenous. Stem 

 branching, glabrous or nearly so; leaves ovate or subelliptical, entire, acuminate; 

 flowers white or greenish white, solitary, or sometimes in twos or threes; corolla 

 rotate, usually 5-lobed; stamens 5, rarely 6 or 7, with bluish anthers dehiscing 

 ■longitudinally; ovary originally 2or3-celled; fruitajuicelessberry or pod, extremely 

 variable in form and size, many-seeded, and with more or less pungency about the 

 seeds and pericarp. Many varieties occur in cultivation. 6 Among the forms usually 

 assigned to this species are Capsicum annuum grossum, the bell pepper, and Capsicum 

 annuum cerasiforme, the cherry pepper. ^ 

 Repehbnces: 



Capsicum annuum L. Sp. PI. 1 : 188. 1753. 

 Capsicum annuum cerasiforme. Cherry pepper. Cayenne pepper. 



A low, shrubby plant; leaves of medium size, ovate or oblong, acuminate; calyx 

 seated on base of fruit; corolla large, spreading; fruit spherical, somewhat heart- 

 shaped, or slightly elongated; flesh firm, very pungent. Of recent introduction on 

 the island. 



References: 

 Capsicum annuum. ceradforme (Mill.) H. C. Irish, Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard. 9: 92. 



1898. 

 Capsicum cerasiforme Mill. Gard. Diet. no. 5. 1768. 



a Bull. Bot. Dept. Jamaica, 1896, p. 30. 



6 See Irish, Rev. genus Capsicum, Ninth Ann. Rep. Mo. Bot. Gard., p. 53, 1898. 

 "See Tracy, W. W., Jr. A list of American varieties of peppers, U. S. Dept. Agr., 

 Bureau PI. Industry, Bull. No. 6, 1902. 



