134 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM, 



v/ 76. Panicum costaricense Hack. 



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•V 1 ^(<^'^IQ. 129.— P. costaricense. 

 ""^ 'iJ2> From type specimen. 



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Panicum costaricense Hack. Oesterr. Bot. Zeitschr. 61:428. 1901. "Costarica: 

 Inter Buenos Aires et Terraba (Pittier .3636); in silva prope Terraba (3673), in vir- 

 gultis ad Rio Ceibo (4860)." The first specimen cited, which is taken as the type, is 

 in the Brussels Herbarium, and was examined by Hackel, but is not in his o^vn herba- 

 rium. The two other specimens are in Hackel's herbarium. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Plants apparently annual; culms slender, erect, 0.5 to 1 meter high , sparingly 

 branched, striate, glabrous or minutely pubescent; sheaths much shorter than the 

 elongated intemodes, papillose-pilose to glabrate, ciliate at 

 least toward the summit; ligules membranaceous, ciliate, 

 about 0.5 mm. long; blades 5 to 10 cm. long, 6 to 12 mm. 

 wide, narrowed toward the base, long-acuminate, very sparsely 

 pilose on both surfaces or glabrate ; panicles ovoid in outline, 

 10 to 15 cm. long, about two-thirds as wide, loosely flowered, 

 the slender, fiexuous branches ascending or spreading, bear- 

 ing delicate branchlets throughout, the scattered spikelets 

 on capillary, flexuous pedicels; spikelets 2.4 mm. long, 0.7 

 mm. wide, elliptic, acute, rather strongly nerved; first glume 

 nearly half the length of the spikelet, acute, hirsute toward 

 the margin ; second glume and sterile lemma sub qual, pointed 

 beyond the fruit, hirsute toward the margin and with very minute papillae bordering 

 the nerves; fruit 1.7 mm. long, 0.6 mm. wide, elliptic, smooth and shining, the 

 margins of the lemma near the base each bowed out into a little angle, giving a 

 somewhat auricled appearance. 



The somewhat auricled base of the fruit in this species suggests an approach to 

 species of Ichnanthus. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



Forests, Costa Rica. - itJ-\-,' , /; . ,?» 

 Costa Rica: Buenos Aires, Pittier 3661, Tonduz 4860; Cordoncillal, Pittier 3640; 

 Boruca, Pittier 4626; Terraba, Tonduz 3673. 

 ^^TTjcWo-e^TTuysiPaTiicMm expansum Fourn.,« the type specimen of which, Liebmann's no. 426 from 

 Huitamalco, Mexico, in the Copenhagen Herbarium, was examined at Halle, is appar- 

 ently closely related to P. costaricense. The fruit has the same auricled or angled base, 

 but the spikelets are slightly larger and glabrous, and the blades are glabrous. Lieb- 

 mann's no. 427 in the same herbarium is the only other specimen of this species we 

 have seen. For the satisfactory placing of this species more material is needed. 



^ 77. Panicum parvifolium Lam. 



Panicum parvifolium Lam. Tabl. Encycl. 1: 173. 1791. The only specimen men- 

 tioned is "Ex Amer. merid. Communic. D. Richard.^' The type, in the Lamarck 

 Herbarium, labeled, "ill. gen. ex D. Richard," is a single slender culm. 



Panicum brasiliense Spreng. Syst. Veg. 1: 321. 1825. "Brasil. (P. ascendens W. 

 herb.)" In the Willdenow Herbarium is a specimen of P. parvifolium labeled, 

 "Panicum adscendens. Brasil. Hoffmansegg, " which is evidently the specimen 

 referred to by Sprengel, and is the type of P. brasiliense. 



Panicum ascendens Willd.; Spreng. Syst. Veg. 1: 321. 1825. This is given as a 

 synonym of P. brasiliense of which it is a typonym. 



Panicum adscendens Hoffmgg.; Ind. Kew. 2:410.1894. This is listed with the 

 reference "ex Schult. Mant. 2: 592," but this is evidently an erro^ 8i3aee-the Mantissa" 



7 oMex. PI. 2: 26. 1886. 



