( 56 ) 



Punjab, Rajputana, and in the Central Provinces ; also in BundeU 

 khand, where I have usually found it in arhar fields on the black soil. 

 A very ornamental grass, and probably nutritious, but being only an 

 annual, and not very plentiful, it does not take a high place as a fodder 

 grass. 



59. ELEUSINE, Gcertn. Contains about 7 species according to 

 Bentham, nearly all of which are to be met with in Northern India. One 

 of them is largely cultivated under the name of mandua, and the other 

 species are more or less valuable for fodder. The spikes are digitate at 

 the top of the peduncle, or verticellate. Spikelets many-flowered, ses- 

 sile, crowded, and flattened. The flowering glumes have no awns, and 

 they are longer than the two inferior empty ones. The seed is transver- 

 sely wrinkled, and often, especially in mandua, loose within the thin 

 shell-like pericarp. 



E. segyptiaca, Pers. (Plate XXXV.)* Syn. — E. cruenta, Lamk ; 

 Dactyloctenium cegyptiacmn, Willd. ; Gynosurus cegyptiacus, Linn. Vern. 

 — General : Makra ; Trans-Indus : Chubrei (Stewart) ; Punjab : 

 Madhdna (Punj. Plains and Salt Range), Kark-madhdna (Gujranwala 

 and Shahpur Districts), Kar-madhdna (Lahore) ; Rajputana : Malicha 

 (Ajmere), mansa (Mount Abu); N.-W. Prov. : Khermakra (Allahabad); 

 Bundelkhand : Ufaka makna and tipalria (Banda) ; Cent. Prov. : Math- 

 na (Balaghat), chikdra (Nagpur), chikdra, chota mandya, and ute-sirkum 

 jdri or ute-sirla gadi (Chanda) ; Santal : Suntu bukrui (Campbell) ; 

 Hind. : Makur jali (Roxb.). 



Stems tufted, erect or creeping and rooting at the nodes after the 

 manner of dub. Leaves flat, tapering to a fine point, ciliate. Spikes 

 3-5, digitate, varying from \ to 2 inches in length. Spikelets regularly 

 and closely packed on the underside of, and at right angles to, a promi- 

 nent angular rachis. Outer glume acute ; the second broader, its keel 

 produced into a dorsal awn ; rachis of spikelets produced beyond the 

 outer glumes. Flowering glumes broad, tapering into short spreading 

 points. Seed oval, 3-sided, transversely rugose, enclosed in a loose 

 pericarp. 



Common all over Northern India, especially on cultivated ground. 

 On dry sterile soils it assumes a more creeping habit, and produces very 

 small spikes. It is generally considered to be a very nutritious grass 

 both as forage and fodder. The seeds are eaten by the poorer classes. 

 In the Lahore district it is said to be eaten by cattle, but not by horses. 

 It occurs also in Australia, where it is much valued as a pasture grass. 



♦ See also Plate F., Fig. 29, of present Volume. 



