MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE WEST INDIES 247 
1. Panicum geminatum Forsk., Fl. Aegypt. Arab. 18. 1775. Egypt. 
Paspalidium geminatum Stapf, in Prain, Fl. Trop. Afr. 9: 583. 
1920. 
Perennial, glabrous throughout; culms cespitose, 25 to 80 cm tall, 
spreading from a decumbent base; blades 10 to 20 cm long, 3 to 6 mm 
wide, flat; panicle 12 to 30 cm long, the racemes 12 to 18, erect, or — 
nearly so, rather distant; spikelets glabrous, a little more than 2 mm 
long (fig. 197). 
Moist ground, ditches, and swamps, mostly near the coast, tropical 
regions of both hemispheres, in America extending north into southern 
Florida and Texas; throughout the West Indies. 
This species has sometimes been referred to P. paspalodes Pers. 
2. Panicum purpurascens Raddi, Agrost. Bras. 47. 1823. Brazil. 
PARA GRASS. 
Panicum barbinode Trin., Mém. Acad. St. Pétersb. VI. Sci. Nat. 1: 
256. 1834. Bahia. 
Panicum guadaloupense Steud., Syn. Pl. Glum. 1: 61. 1854. 
Guadeloupe. 
Perennial, sending out widely creeping stolons; culms decumbent 
at base, rooting at the lower nodes, 2 to 6 m long or even more, some- 
times ascending into bushes and trees; nodes densely villous; sheaths 
villous; blades 10 to 15 mm wide, glabrous; panicle 12 to 20 cm long, 
with several rather distant racemes; spikelets 3 mm long, glabrous 
(fig. 198). 
Cultivated and waste ground, especially in moist places, tropical 
America. To be found on all the West Indian islands. 
A valuable forage grass in the Tropics at low altitudes, used for 
pasture and for cut ereen feed. In common with Eriochloa poly- 
stachya called ‘‘malojilla’’ in Puerto Rico; in Cuba called “‘hierba del 
Paral’, “hierba bruja’, and ‘‘parand”’; in the English islands called 
“Dutch grass” and “Scotch grass.” 
Panicum purpurascens Raddi had previously been discarded be- 
cause of the earlier P. purpurascens Opiz (1822) which, however, is a 
nomen nudum. 
Some botanists have referred this species to Panicum muticum 
Forsk. described from Egypt, or to P. numidianum Lam., also de- 
scribed from Egypt (‘‘Nubia’’). In the author’s opinion P. pur- 
purascens is different from P. numidianum to which P. muticum 
should probably be referred. The Egyptian plant differs in having 
pubescent but not villous nodes, more acute spikelets, no long hairs 
on the rachis and pedicels, and a larger first glume. Panicum pur- 
purascens occurs in tropical Africa whence it may have been intro- 
duced into Brazil. 
3. Panicum reptans L., Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 2: 870. 1759. Jamaica. 
Pamcum grossarvum L., Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 2: 871. 1759. Jamaica. 
Pamcum prostratum Lam., Tabl. Encycl. 1: 171. 1791. Santo 
Domingo. 
Pamcum caespitosum Swartz, Fl. Ind. Occ. 1: 146. 1797. Jamaica. 
Panicum insularum Steud., Syn. Pl. Glum. 1: 61. 1854. Lesser 
Antilles. 
Brachiaria prostrata Griseb., Abh. Ges. Wiss. G6ttingen 7: 263. 
1857. 
