556 cl vii. CRAMiNEiE (Stapf). [Brachiaria. 
Panicum nudiglume, A. Rich. Tent. FI. Abyss, ii. 372 (partly) ; 
not of Hochst. ex Steud. 
Nile Land. Abyssinia: Gallabat; Matamma, Schweinfurth, 1146 ! Samen ; 
low places by the Tacazze River near Jela jeranne, Schimper, 1612 !._ 
44. B. semiundulata^ Annual, |-1 ft. high, tufted. Culms 
slender, suberect or ascending from a more or less prostrate base, 
geniculate and branched from the lower nodes, 3-6-noded, upper- 
most internode by far the longest, terete, glabrous, rarely pubescent, 
lower internodes sometimes compressed, often hairy below the nodes. 
Leaf-sheaths rather loose, the lower short and mostly hairy, the 
uppermost long, slightly tumid upwards, often glabrous except at 
the pubescent outer margin, all striate and pubescent or villous 
at the nodes ; ligules a fringe of short hairs ; blades lanceolate to 
(the lowest) subovate from a rounded base, acute or subacute, 
J-2 in. by 2-4 lin., flat, somewhat thick, green, glabrous or more or 
less loosely hairy, margins markedly cartilaginous, scabrid or minutely 
spinulously ciliolate, the inner often crisped, primary lateral nerves 
3-4 on each side, differentiated from the numerous very fine secondary 
ones only below, midrib very slender. Panicle long-exserted, more 
or less secund, of few to 8 obliquely erect or spreading spike-like 
solitary moderately distant mostly simple racemes ; common axis 
slender, angular, pubescent or almost glabrous, scabrid or ciliolate 
along the angles, terminating with a spikelet. Racemes rather 
dense, rarely over \ in. long, the uppermost shorter, all sessile or 
subsessile and simple or the lowermost sometimes with 1 or 2 very 
short secondary racemes at the base ; rhachis very slender, wavy, 
about | lin. wide, more or less triquetrous, scabrid or ciliolate to 
ciliate along the angles, glabrous or pubescent on the faces ; pedicels 
mostly solitary, very short with subdiscoid tips, or if paired the longer 
up to almost 1 lin. long, angular, scabrid, with few to many fine 
white hairs from the upper part. Spikelets mostly subsessile, about 
| lin. apart, 2-seriate and subcontiguous, subovoid, turgid, very 
convex on the back, 1 lin. long, subacute, green or faintly tinged with 
purple, glabrous or pubescent. Glumes very unequal ; the lower 
broad-ovate, subacute to almost obtuse, about one-third the length 
of the spikelet, 1-3-nerved ; upper corresponding in shape and size 
to the spikelet, thinly membranous, 5-nerved. Lower floret neuter : 
valve broad-elliptic, subacute, more or less flattened or slightly 
depressed and almost hyaline between the inner nerves, otherwise 
resembling the upper glume ; valvule oblong, slightly shorter than 
the valve. Upper floret ovate to elliptic-oblong, shortly acute 
to subacute, almost 1 lin. long ; valve and valvule crustaceous, 
straw-coloured, very finely pitted, without transverse wrinkles. 
Grain almost orbicular in outline, dorsally slightly compressed, 
|-f lin. long, dull pea-green ; scutellum equalling three-quarters of 
the grain. — Panicum semiundulatum, Hochst. in Flora, 1841, i. Intell. 
