Pimicum.] CLIII. GEAMINEJU. 1829 



2nd and 3rd glumes nearly equal, acute or acuminate, prominently 3 or 5-nerved, 

 a male flower in the 3rd. Fruiting glume acute, smooth or minutely rugose. — 

 P. arcnarium, Brot. Phyt. Lusit. i. 15, t. 6 ; P. airoides, E. Br. Pjrod. 190. 



Hab.: Gulf of Carpentaria, E. Brown, F. v. Mueller ; Sweera Island, Henne ; Endeavour 

 Biver, Banks and Solander. 



The species is common in maritime districts in southern Asia, northern Africa and southern 

 Europe, and apparently also on the coasts of Brazil. 



35. P. ^maximum (from its large size), Jac. Ic. PI. Rar. i.t. 13 ; Hook, in 

 Fl. Brit. Ind. vii. 49. Guinea Grass. A perennial grass 8 to 10ft. high with 

 |>ranching stems. Leaves 1 to 2ft. long with long filiform points, the sheaths 

 hairy ; ligula of long hairs. Panicle large and loose, with numerous capillary 

 much divided branches. Spikelets numerous, all pedicellate, IJ to 1| line long, 

 obtuse. Glumes membranous and obtuse, the outer one about ^ the 2nd and 

 3rd. A male flower in the 3rd. Fruiting glume acute, slightly rugose. — P. 

 jumentoi-um, Pers. ; Vasey Ag. Gr. U.S. 



Hab.: Tropical Africa. An excellent fodder cultivated in most tropical countries. 



36. P. pygmaeum (dwarfish), P. Br. Prod. 191 ; Benth. Fl. Austr. vii. 484. 

 A small species, creeping and rooting at the nodes, ascending to about 6in. 

 jjeaves rarely above lin. long, linear or lanceolate, ciliate and usually but not 

 always sprinkled with long hair. Panicle short and spreading, with a few 

 capillary flexuose simple or slightly divided branches. Spikelets few and distant, 

 scarcely 1 line long, obtuse, glabrous. Outer glume very short, broad, truncate, 

 nerveless ; 2nd and 3rd glumes equal, 3 or 5-nerved, both empty. Fruiting glume 

 smooth and shining. — F. v. M. Fragm. viii. 193 ; Maid. Gr. N.S.W., 45. 



Hab. : Brisbane Biver, Moreton Bay, F. v. Mueller, Bailey ; Cleveland Bay, Gulliver. 



37. P. trichoides (Tricbodium-like), Sw. ; Ktinth, Entim. i. 112 ; Benth. Fl. 

 Austr. vii. 485. Decumbent at the base and often shortly creeping and rooting, 

 though sometimes apparently annual, the stems slender, ascending to from 6in. 

 to nearly 1ft. Leaves ovate-lanceolate or rarely narrow, cordate and ciliate at 

 the base, the sheaths also often slightly hairy. Panicle at first sessile within the 

 last leaf, but at length pedunculate, decompound with numerous capillary flexuose 

 divided spreading branches, the lower ones clustered, the whole panicle ovate in 

 diitline 2 to 4in. long, and often almost as broad, glabrous, or with a few long 

 hairs scattered on the main-rhachis. Spikelets almost the smallest in the genus, 

 ovoid, obtuse, scarcely more than half line long. Outer glume scarcely i the 

 length of the spikelet, ovate, acute, 1-nerved ; 2nd and 3rd nearly equal, broadly 

 ovate, 3-nerved, shortly hirsute ; a small palea sometimes but not always in the 

 8rd. Fruiting glume smooth and shining. 



Hab.: Found on hillsides in tropical localities. 



38. P, hermaphroditum (hermaphrodite), Steud. Syn. Glum. i. 67 ; Bmth. 

 Fl. Austr. vii. 485. Stems creeping and rooting at the base, ascending to 1ft. or 

 more, rather slender. Leaves spreading, lanceolate or almost linear, sprinkled 

 especially the lower ones with rather long hairs. Panicle narrow, rather dense, 

 1^ to 3in. long, the short capillary branches much divided, with few or many 

 long hairs on the rhachis and branches. Spikelets very numerous, all 

 pedicellate, usually of a dark brown, obliquely ovoid, under f line long and broad. 

 Empty glumes all broad and 3-nerved, the outer one more than half the length 

 qf the spikelets, the 2nd very broad and gibbous, the 3rd rather longer and 

 straight. Fruiting glume very hard and smooth, broad and very gibbous. Palea 

 also hard and smooth, projecting laterally from the glume more than in any 

 other species. — P. pilipes, Nees in PI. Wight, Exs. n. 2343. 



Hab.: Daintree Elver and other tropical scrubs. 



The species is also in Ceylon, the East Indian Peninsula and the Malayan Archipelago. 



PiBT VI. K 



