E chino chloa.] 
615 
CLVII. GRAMINEiE (Stapf). 
( 
7. E. pyramidafe, Hitchcock & Chase in Contrib. U.S. Nat. Herb. 
xviii. 345. Perennial, reed-like, up to 15 ft. high, from long and often 
strong rhizomes with extra vaginal innovation-buds covered by pale 
papery cataphyils. Culms ascending from a geniculate or often 
long-prostrate or floating and abundantly rooting base, at the base 
up to over J in. thick, many-noded, simple, sheathed all along or the 
upper internodes at length exserted, quite glabrous and smooth. 
Leaf -sheaths terete, tight, striate, smooth and glabrous except for 
the frequently coarsely ciliate’ or upwards bearded margins, the 
basal often spongy, tessellated, up to almost 1 ft. long and very 
broad ; ligule a fringe of mostly long and somewhat stiff hairs, 
occasionally much reduced or almost suppressed in the uppermost 
leaves ; blades linear from a rather broad and slightly constricted 
or shortly decurrent base, or attenuated downwards, long -tapering 
to a fine point, 1-2 ft. by 3-12 lin., flat, very firm, mostly more or 
less glaucous, sometimes very minutely papillose, scabrid upwards, 
the margins cartilaginous, scabrid or spinulose or smooth towards the 
base, midrib whitish and shallowly channelled above, in large leaves 
up to 2 lin. wide near the base, rounded and less conspicuous on the 
back, primary lateral nerves slender, if clearly differentiated up to 
6 or more on each side, secondary nerves very close. Panicles erect 
or somewhat nodding, usually linear-oblong and dense, \ to over 
1 ft. long, facing all sides or subsecund ; axis stout, 3- to multi- 
angular, sulcate, hispidulous or glabrous and smooth except at the 
angles which are at least upwards scabrid to spinulose, usually with a 
fringe or tuft of hairs at the nodes ; branches numerous to very 
numerous, some solitary, others 2-nate or fascicled, the lowest 
distant, the others rather close, suberect, strict or flexuous, or some- 
times nodding, the lower and intermediate 1-3 in. long, forming- 
dense simple or subsimple false spikes, 3-4 lin. in diam. ; rhachis 
slender, j-1 lin. wide, triquetrous, often with long stiff hairs and 
besides hispidulous or glabrous, with scabrid angles ; pedicels 
fascicled or clustered, very short with discoid tips. Spikelets ovate 
in outline, acute to cuspidate, 1 J to over 2 lin. long, somewhat plump, 
greenish or variegated with purple, sometimes almost blackish- 
purple. Lower glume membranous, broad-ovate from a clasping 
base, acute, about half the length of the spikelet, 5-nerved, minutely 
pubescent, at least towards the margins ; upper glume ovate to 
ovate-oblong, shortly acuminate to cuspidate, very concave, almost 
as long as the lower floret, 5-7-nerved, minutely and rigidly 
pubescent or subglabrous between the scabrid or spinulose nerves, 
or the inner nerves smooth, or almost quite smooth and glabrous. 
Lower floret £ : valve similar to the upper glume, but somewhat 
flattened or depressed and more glabrous and smooth on the back 
and usually more distinctly cuspidate ; valvule oblong, subacuminate 
with scabrid keels ; anthers J-l lin. long. Upper floret jj, elliptic 
in outline, minutely apiculate or cuspidate, as long as the lower 
