Hyjparrhenia .] clvii. gramine^: (Stapf). 
311 
1£ ft. long, up to over 3 lin. wide, erect, flat or frequently with revolute 
seabrid margins, rough on the upper side or almost smooth, more or 
less hirsute and bearded at the mouth or glabrous above the latter 
or altogether ; midrib moderately to very stout in the lower leaves, 
slender in the upper, whitish on the upper side ; primary lateral 
nerves about 4 on each side, prominent above. Spatheate panicle 
large, in tall specimens compound to the third degree, elongated, 
rather lax, to over 3 ft. long ; primary internodes 6-9, the lowest 
3 very long (the lowest 6-11 in.), the upper rapidly decreasing ; tiers 
few- to 6-rayed, mixed or the lowest branches undivided at the 
base and up to 4-noded ; simple rays slender, filiform, 2-2 J in. long ; 
subtending leaves with well developed upwards decreasing blades, 
the lowest resembling the preceding leaves. Spatheoles narrowly 
subulate, lanceolate, 2-2J in. long, very long- and finely acuminate, 
scarious, purple or reddish-brown, glabrous, ultimately narrowly 
inrolled ; peduncles finely filiform, recurved upwards, laterally 
exserted from the spatheoles, always shorter than these, pubescent 
upwards with long spreading tubercle-based hairs from the cur- 
vature. Racemes loose, more or less spreading, nodding, at length 
usually epinastically reflexed, 1-1J in. long, 8-12-awned per pair, 
loosely silky, fulvous or greyish-fulvous ; bases slender, filiform, 
the lower subsessile, the other up to 2 lin. long, pubescent in the 
fork ; joints finely filiform, very obliquely truncate or subauricled, 
up to over 2 lin. long, shortly ciliate, cilia white to dark fulvous, 
J-l lin. long ; pedicels very similar, slightly longer, with a small 
subulate auricle. Homogamous pair of spikelets 1 (normally) at the 
base of the lower raceme only. Fertile spikelets linear -lanceolate, 
3 lin. long, pale or olive green (apart from the hairs) ; callus slender, 
acute, up to f lin. long, very shortly bearded. Glumes equal, lower 
subchartaceous, minutely truncate, dorsally flat, fulvous- or greyish- 
hairy all over, margins very narrowly involute, slightly indexed 
near the tips, keels very short, scaberulous, nerves about 11 ; upper 
glume membranous, obscurely emarginate, slightly hairy upwards 
on the back and ciliate on the margin. Lower floret reduced to an 
oblong truncate hyaline delicately 2-nerved reversedly ciliate valve. 
Upper floret ^ : valve stipitiform, very obscurely 2-toothed ; awn 
1J-2 in. long, column brown, fulvously pubescent. Anthers 1 lin. 
long. Grain oblong, 1-| lin. long, dorsally much compressed ; embryo 
less than half the length of the grain. Pedicelled spikelets $ or 
neuter, narrowly linear-lanceolate, over 3 lin. long, resembling the 
sessile in colour and tomentum ; glumes subequal, lower firmly 
subherbaceous, acute, 11-nerved, upper sometimes mucronulate, 
3-nerved ; valves slightly shorter than the glumes, hyaline, re- 
versedly ciliate, lower oblong, 3-nerved, upper linear-spat hulate from 
a very narrow base, or both more reduced. 
"f- Lower Guinea. Angola : Benguella ;( close to native villages, near Munongue, 
growing gregariously,) Gossweiler, 3068 ! abundant at N’Jaia, near Munongue,^ 
