Hy'panhenia.') clvii. gramineje (Stapf). 
333 
stricted base, long -tapering to a fine point, J to over 1 J ft. by 3-8 
lin., rarely narrower, rigid to sub flaccid, flat, dull green, sometimes 
slightly glaucous or suffused with purple, glabrous or delicately 
hirsute at the base with tubercle -based hairs, scabrid to spinulous 
along the margins, otherwise smooth or slightly rough, midrib 
slender, primary lateral nerves up to 5 (rarely 7) on each side, 
slender. Spatheate panicle often very large and dense, inter- 
rupted or lobed, decompound, leafy, \ to over 2 ft. long, in weak 
specimens, however, much reduced ; tiers distant below, often 
approximate upwards, up to 10, few- to 5-rayed, usually mixed with 
numerous compound rays ; compound rays 5- or more-noded with 
at least the upper internodes much shortened; ultimate (simple) 
rays finely filiform, J-l in. long ; primary spathes developed almost 
throughout as normal leaves with short sheaths and long blades 
which frequently overtop the panicle, secondary spathes much 
reduced, mostly scarious, reddish, with small blades, upwards rapidly 
assuming the shape of the spatheoles. Spatheoles permanently boat- 
shaped, usually more or less horizontal on the arched rays, broad- 
lanceolate or ovate-lanceolate in profile, acutely acuminate, mostly 
J-J in. long (rarely 4 or 5 lin.), 1J-2 lin. wide, thinly scarious, often 
brilliantly red or purple, glabrous ; peduncles filiform, about 2-4 
(rarely 5) lin. long, their tips densely bearded, hairs white or yellowish, 
up to 3 lin. long. Racemes subsessile, laterally and usually vertically 
exserted from the spatheoles, at length epinastically more or less 
deflexed, dense, subcontiguous, 2J-4 lin. long, 2-6- (mostly 4-5-) 
awned per pair, bases very short, densely bearded ; joints like 
the pedicels slender filiform, truncate, J-f lin., or the pedicels up to 
1 lin. long, shortly white ciliate. Homogamous pair of spikelets 
1 at the base of the lower raceme only, ft or neuter. Fertile 
spikelets linear-oblong, usually lf-2 lin. long, pale ; callus very 
short, obtuse, bearded. Glumes equal, thinly chartaceous, lower 
minutely truncate, dorsally flattened, glabrous or pubescent, 
7-9-nerved, nerves very faint below the tips; margins narrowly 
involute up to two-thirds, then indexed, forming fine rigidly ciliolate 
keels ; upper minutely and obliquely truncate, 3-nerved, sparingly 
ciliolate upwards. Lower floret reduced to a linear-oblong truncate 
obscurely 2-nerved or nerveless ciliolate valve. Upper floret ^ : 
valve stipitiform, minutely 2-toothed ; awn fine, 3-8 (rarely under 
3) lin. long, column brown, hispidulous ; valvule 0. Anthers up 
to 1 lin. long. Pedicelled spikelets ft or neuter, lanceolate to 
oblong, 2-2J lin. long, pale to deep reddish, glabrous or pubescent ; 
lower glume acutely acuminate, 7-9-nerved, keels rigidly ciliolate ; 
upper acute, 3-nerved ; valves hyaline, lower oblong obtuse, up 
to 1J lin. long, faintly 1- to sub-3-nerved ; upper shorter, linear 
-f- to cuneate -linear or reduced or 0. — And royoqon cymbarius, Linn. 
Mant. Alt. 303 ; Spreng. in Mem. Acad. Petersb. ii. 305 (1810) ; Stapf 
in Dyer, FI. Cap. vii. 360 ; Pilger in Mildbr. Wiss. Ergebn. Deutsch. 
