Eriochloa.\ 
CL VII, GrBAMINFiiE (Stapf). 
501 
finely pubescent to tomentose at the nodes and sometimes, but less 
so, at the junction with the blade, otherwise glabrous or with fine 
sparingly scattered spreading hairs ; ligules reduced to a densely 
ciliate rim ; blades convolute in bud, linear from an almost equally 
wide base, tapering to a long acute point, up to over 8 in. by 3-4 lin., 
somewhat succulent and rigid, glabrous, smooth or very slightly 
rough upwards, nerves very numerous and close, the primary ones 
(5-6 on each side) hardly more prominent. Panicle oblong to linear, 
4-10 in. long, of numerous suberect or slightly spreading straight 
racemes ; common axis terete, striate or angulax, more or less 
channelled upwards, smooth below, scaberulous, puberulous or 
sometimes loosely pubescent above ; racemes shortly peduncled or 
the upper almost sessile (the lowest peduncles rarely much exceeding 
J in.), the lower up to 3 in. long and compound with secondary 
racemes up to 3 lin. long and bearing up to 6 or 7 spikelets, the others 
shorter to much shorter and more or less simple ; rhachis triquetrous, 
lin. wide, scabrid along the edges, more or less scaberulous 
or almost smooth on the faces, of the secondary racemes wavy, much 
more slender and scaberulous all over ; pedicels 2-nate or solitary 
towards the top of the raceme, unequal, the longer up to 1 lin. long, 
scaberulous, sometimes with a very few stiff hairs below the sub- 
discoid tips. Spikelets hardly appearing 2-seriate even where the 
raceme is simple, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate or aristulate- acuminate, 
1J-1J lin. long, pale green or faintly tinged with purple, slightly 
silky ; basal bead-like internode more or less purple to almost black 
in the upper part, up to J lin. in diam. Lower glume reduced to a 
narrow membranous cupular rim or developed as a minute nerveless 
scale clasping the base of the spikelet ; upper 5-nerved, more or less 
(sometimes very sparingly) loosely silky, awnlet up to \ lin. long. 
Lower floret $ : valve very similar to the upper glume if not slightly 
shorter and more hairy ; valvule oblong, almost as long as the valve, 
2-keeled, flaps narrow. Upper floret elliptic- oblong, obtuse, up to 
1J lin. long, straw-coloured ; valve shortly mucronate, mucro about 
i-i lin. long. Anthers § lin. long. 
Mozambique Distr. Portuguese East Africa : Msalu River, Allen, 122 ! 
between Shupanga and Senna, Kirk ! Boruma, Menyharth, 1114 ! 
Menyhart’s specimens from which Hackel described the species have spikelets 
which are destitute of the little awnlets present in the other specimens quoted 
above, and the lower glume is also more distinctly developed, but otherwise 
they are quite like them. A specimen collected by Holst at Masheua, Usam- 
bara (no. 3524), seems also to belong here. It has the same rhizome, innovations, 
culms, leaves and panicle, but the primary axis of the latter is pubescent to villo- 
sulous towards the nodes ; the spikelets as in Menyhart’s specimen are dis- 
tinguished by the complete absence of an awnlet and the cuff -like development 
of the lower glume, whilst the bead-like basal internode is very small. 
4. E. Macclounii, Stapf. Base unknown. Culms terete, rather 
slender upwards, tomentose below the inflorescence, Ijeaf-sheaths 
