220 BULLETIN 772, U, S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
nate flower: fertile lemma indurate, minutely papillose-rugose, 
mucronate or awned, the awn often readily deciduous, the mar- 
gins slightly inrolled. 
Annual or perennial, often 
branching grasses, with termi- 
nal panicles consisting of sev- 
eral or many spreading or 
a p p r e s s e d ra cemes. Usually 
rather closely arranged along 
the main axis. Species about 
15. in the warmer parts of the 
world, mostly in America ; 6 
species in the United States, in 
the Southern and Southwest- 
ern States. 
Type species: Eriochloa distachya 
H. B. K. 
Eriochloa H. B. K., Nov. Gen. and 
Sp, 1 : 94, pis. 30 and 31. 1816. Two 
species are described. E. distachya 
and E. polystachya, and both are 
figured. The first is chosen as the 
type. 
Helopus Trin., Fund. Agrost. 103, 
pi. 4. 1820. The only species men- 
tioned is H. pilosus, which is the 
Fig. 132. — St. Augustine grass, Stenotaphrum secundatum. Plant, X I : two views of 
spikelet and fertile floret, X 10. 
same as Eriochloa punctata. Trinius incorrectly cites Milium ramosum Retz. 
as a synonym of Helopus pilosus. 
Oedipachne Link. Hort. Berol. 1: 51. 1827. The only species mentioned is 
Milium punctatum L. (Eriochloa punctata (L.) Hamilt.L upon which Oedi- 
pachne punctata is based. 
