MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE WEST INDIES bile: 
48. EKLEUSINE Gaertn., Fruct. et Sem. 1: 7. pl. 1. f.11. 1788 
Spikelets, few- to several-flowered, compressed, sessile and closely 
imbricate, in two rows along one side of a rather broad rachis, the 
latter not prolonged beyond the spikelets; rachilla disarticulating 
above the glumes and between the florets, glumes unequal, rather 
broad, acute, l-nerved, shorter than the first lemma; lemmas acute, 
with 3 streng green nerves close together forming a keel, the upper- 
most somewhat reduced; seed dark brown, roughened by fine ridges, 
loosely enclosed in the thin pericarp. Annuals, with two to several 
rather stout spikes, digitate at the summit of the culms, sometimes 
with one or two a short distance below, or rarely with a single ter- 
minal spike. 
Spikes in a terminal whorl, sometimes with a spike below__-___-_ ioe Es INDICA. 
Spikespnpmore than one whork. Mo U2 8 ee 2. E. VERTICILLATA. 
1. Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn., Fruct. et Sem. 1: 8. 1788. 
GOOSEGRASS. 
Cynosurus indicus L., Sp. Pl. 72. 1753. India. 
Branching at base, ascending or prostrate, very smooth; culms 
compressed, usually less than 50 cm long; blades flat or folded, 3 to 
8 mm wide; spikes mostly 2 to 6, flat, 4 to 15 em long (fig. 72). 
Open ground and waste places. A common weed of warm and 
warm-temperate regions. Introduced in America. To be found on 
all the West Indian islands. In Cuba called “pata de gallina’”’ and 
“orama de caballo.”’ 
2. Eleusine verticillata Roxb., Fl. Ind. 1: 346. 1820. India. 
Annual; culms rather slender, 30 to 60 cm tall; spikes in a terminal 
whorl of 3 to 5 and several below in 2 or 3 whorls or opposite or al- 
ternate; spikelets 8- to 12-flowered; glumes aristulate; lemmas 
mucronate. 
Pastures and open ground. ‘Tropical regions of the Old World; 
introduced in Haiti. 
Harti: Cul-de-Sac, Ekman H 941. L’Arcahaie, Ekman H 6671. 
49. DACTYLOCTENIUM Willd., Enum. Pl. 1029. 1809 
Spikelets, 3- to 5-flowered, compressed, sessile and closely imbricate, 
in two rows along one side of the rather narrow flat rachis, the end 
projecting in a point beyond the spikelets; rachilla disarticulating 
above the first glume and between the florets; glumes somewhat 
unequal, broad, 1-nerved, the first persistent upon the rachis, the 
second mucronate or short-awned below the tip, deciduous; lemmas 
firm, broad, keeled, acuminate or short-awned, 3-nerved, the lateral 
nerves indistinct, the upper floret reduced; the palea about as long 
as the lemma; seed subglobose, ridged or wrinkled, enclosed in a thin, 
early-disappearing pericarp. Annuals or perennials, with flat blades 
and two to several short thick spikes, digitate and widely spreading 
at the summit of the culms. 
1. Dactyloctenium aegyptium (L.) Richt., Pl. Eur. 1: 68. 1890. 
CROWFOOT GRASS. 
Cynosurus aegyptius L., Sp. Pl. 72. 1753. Africa, Asia, America. 
Eleusine aegyptiaca Desf., Fl. Atlant. 1: 85. 1798. 
