182 



species, belong to D. humifusa. Stems, several from the same root, 

 branched, decumbent, and rooting tit the base, from a span to eighteen 

 inches or two feet high, smooth, striated. Leaves flat, rather short, 

 oblong-lanceolate, acute, rough, with hairs on both sides ; the hairs 

 springing from small tubercles, very distinctly seen upon the sheaths. 

 Clustered spikes usually four or five, but sometimes in very luxuriant 

 specimens ten or more. Spikelets in pairs, supported by pedicels of 

 very unequal length, and more or less appressed to the same side of 

 the flattened rachis, two-flowered. Lowermost barren flower consisting 

 of a single large, oblong-lanceolate palea, five-veined, and pubescent on 

 the margins. Upper fertile flower, with two equal paleae, more or less 

 tinged with purple. 



Annual. Flowers in August and September. 



Very widely distributed in warm and tropical countries, in many of 

 which it is a common and troublesome weed in arable land ; as, 

 though an annual and short-lived plant, the stems are at first decum- 

 bent, and, taking root at the lower joints, send up others of similar 

 habit, occasioning it to increase rapidly and occupy a large space. 

 According to Mr. Sinclair, " in some part.? of Germany this grass is 

 cultivated for its seed, which, when boiled with milk or wine, is said to 

 form an extremely palatable food, and is generally made use of whole 

 in the manner of sago, to which it is in most instances preferred. It 

 produces much seed, of which birds are very fond, and requires to be 

 protected by nets or otherwise during the time of ripening. The usual 

 method of collecting and preparing the seeds is, that at sunrise they 

 are gathered or beaten into a hair-sieve from the dewy grass, spread on 

 a sheet and dried for a fortnight in the sun ; they are then gently 

 beaten with a wooden pestle in a wooden trough or mortar, with straw 

 laid between the seeds and the pestle, tiU the chaff comes oif ; they are 

 then winnowed. After this they are again put into the trough in 

 rows, with dried marigold flowers, apple and hazel leaves, and pounded 

 untU they appear bright ; they are then winnowed again, and being 

 made perfectly clean by this last process, are fit for use. The marigold 

 leaves are added to give the seeds a fine colour. A bushel of seed with 

 the chaff yields only about two quarts of clean seed." 



DiGiTARiA, nuMiTDSA. Smooth Finger Grass. Plate CXLIV. 



Clustered spikes two to four, linear, spreading. Rachis flattened, 

 nearly straight, the margins minutely serrulate. Spikelets oval or 

 oblong. Lower glume very minute, truncate, often absent altogether ; 

 upper one oblong, three- or five-veined, nearly the length of the fertile 

 flower. Culm decumbent at the base. Leaves and sheaths glabrous. 



Digitaria humifusa, Persoon. E. B. Supp., 2613. E. B. ed. 2. text, 

 page 78. Most modern English botanists. Panicum glabrum, 

 Koch. Gaudichaud. Bentham. P. humifusum, Kunth. Digitaria 

 filiformis, Koel. Syntherisma glabrum, Schrader. 



