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temperate Asia. It is extensively cultivated in Northern India, either 

 alone, or mixed with wheat, or with gram, mustard and linseed. There 

 are two important varieties, viz., the 2-rowed (H. distichon), and the 6- 

 rowed (JET. hexastickon), the latter heing the* one more usually grown in this 

 country. Barley succeeds better as a hill crop than wheat, and is cul- 

 tivated at higher elevations. A curious beardless variety (H. cegiceras, 

 Royle) is found in Tibet; another, called rasuli bailey (H. gymno- 

 distichori) differs from the ordinary in having the grains free of the 

 pales ; and Siberian barley {H. coeleste). Vern. — TJyan or uajau has been 

 recorded from Pangi (Stewart), Lahoul (Moorcroft), and Kumaun 

 (Watson). For farther information see works referred to under wheat. 



T&IBE XIII. BAMBUSEiE. 



76. BAMBUSA, Schreb. Species about 24, distributed over trop- 

 ical and subtropical Asia, one occurring in America. 



B. arundinacea, Retz. Syn. — B. orientalis, Nees; Arundo Bambos, 

 Linn. ; Bambos arundinacea, Pers. Vern. — Punjab : Magar bans and 

 ndl bans ; N.-W. and Cent. India : Bans, and hattang bans ; Marathi : 

 Mandgai (Dymock) ; Tkling : Vedroo and mulhas (Roxb.). 



Perennial. Stems woody, 30-50 feet high, forming compact clumps, 

 green ; branches spreading, alternate, bifarious, spinescent ; cavity of 

 joints small ; spines strong, curved, in pairs at the base of the branches, 

 or in threes, the central one being the longest. Leaves small, shortly 

 stalked, bifarious, lanceolate, thin ; sheaths persistent, coriaceous, downy, 

 1-2 inches long. Spikelets mostly sessile, in dense J-whorled clusters, 

 glabrous and shining. Empty glumes 2-4. P'lowering glumes 4-10, 

 the upper ones sterile. Edges of pale fimbriate. Lodicules 3. Sta- 

 mens 6. Pericarp thin, adnate to the seed. 



Common in Central and Southern India, and extensively cultivated 

 in parts of North- West India and Bengal. The leaves and twigs are a 

 favourite fodder of elephants. The various purposes to which this plant 

 is put, too numerous to be here mentioned, are given in Dr. Watt's 

 " Dictionary of the Economic Products of India," Vol. I., p. 390. See 

 also Brandis' "Forest Flora," Roxburgh's " Flora Indica," II., 191, and 

 Dymock's " Vegetable Materia Medica of Western India," p. 856. 



Roxburgh, in describing the inflorescence of this species, says — 

 " When in flower the tree is generally destitute of leaves, and as the 

 extremity of every ramification is covered with flowers, the whole tree 

 seems one entire, immense panicle, composed of innumerable, somewhat 

 verticelled spikes, each verticel is composed of several, distichous, oblong, 

 pointed, sessile, rigid spikelets, such as those of Eleusine, &c." The 





