Digitaria.'] 
CL VII. GRAMINEJE (Stapf). 
447 
16. D. pellita, Staff. Perennial, compactly csespitose; innova- 
tions intravaginal. Culms erect, stiff , rather slender, up to 6 ft. 
high, glabrous, 2-noded, simple. Leaf-sheaths tight, finely striate, 
much shorter than the internodes, densely and appressedly hirsute 
to tomentose all along or (the uppermost) upwards only, glabrous 
at the nodes, the lowest crowded, hard and long-persistent, tightly 
coating the shoots for 3-5 in. ; ligules reduced to a long-ciliate rim, 
cilia up to almost 2 lin. long ; blades linear, tapering to a fine point, 
over 1 ft. long, tightly convolute, then unrolling and up to 2 lin. 
wide, hard, densely and appressedly greyish-tomentose on the back, 
less so to almost glabrous on the face, primary lateral nerves numerous, 
very close, midrib slender. Racemes 3-4, sessile, subdigitate with 
an angular common rhachis which is very villous at the nodes and 
up to 1J in. long, erect, 6-7 in. long, stiff, greyish ; rhachis straight 
or more or less wavy, slightly over J lin. wide, triquetrous, angles 
marginate or narrowly winged, scabrid ; pedicels 2-4-nate, very 
unequal, the longest about 2 lin. long, angular, scabrid. Spikelets 
subappressed, imbricate or subimbricate, oblong-lanceolate, acumi- 
nate, up to If lin. long, silky on the side, the silk exceeding the 
spikelets. Lower glume truncate-rotundate, embracing the base 
of the spikelet, up to over J lin. long, extremely delicate, white, 
hyaline, nerveless, easily rubbed off ; upper narrowly lanceolate, 
very acute, 1-1J lin. long, 3-nerved, with 4 lines of hairs, the hairs 
of the inner lines short, those of the outer up to f lin. long, wavy, 
acute, appressed or more or less spreading, forming a dense fringe 
of cilia. Lower floret : valve oblong-lanceolate, acutely acuminate, 
thinly membranous, pale, sometimes faintly tinged with purple, 
5-nerved with the nerves about equally distant, with a dense fringe 
of wavy silky cilia pointing forward, cilia up to 1 lin. long, often 
pinkish, acute ; valvule, if present, and lodicules very minute, 
lin. long. Upper floret lanceolate, acutely acuminate, up to If lin. 
long, chartaceous, pale brown. 
Lower Guinea. Angola : Benguella ; in Mumua woods at Campulua, Goss - 
weiler, 2787 ! 
( 
17. D. Brazz Stapf. Perennial, compactly csespitose from a 
short rhizome, innovations mostly intravaginal. Culms erect, 
1-3 ft. high, simple, 2-4-noded, slender or somewhat stout, glabrous. 
Leaf-sheaths rather tight or at length loosened, the lower longer 
than the internodes, very closely striate, the basal densely greyish- 
tomentose or velvety downwards, the following more or less softly 
hirsute to tomentose, the uppermost usually quite glabrous, all 
usually more or less bearded at the nodes ; ligules very short, 
truncate, densely ciliate ; blades linear to linear-lanceolate from a 
nearly equally wide base, tapering to an acute somewhat rigid 
point, 2-5 in. by 1J-3J lin., the uppermost very much reduced, 
flat, firm, rigid, slightly rough along the margin, moie or less hiisute 
