Hy'parr'henia.'] clvii. gramineje (Stapf). 
359 
ligules broad, rounded, glabrous, scarious, up to 3 lin. long ; blades 
linear from an equally wide or more often long-narrowed but not 
petioloid base, tapering to an acute point, up to over 1 ft. by 2|— 8 
lin., flaccid, green, glabrous or with some long spreading tubercle- 
based hairs towards the base, more or less rough particularly on the 
upper side and along the margins ; midrib slender, or in the largest 
leaves somewhat stout downwards ; primary lateral nerves 3-5 on 
each side, distant, very slender. Spatheate panicle narrow, flaccid, 
loose and foliate (sometimes augmented by 1 or 2 flowering branches, 
1|-1 ft. long and resembling it), of 5 or 6 downwards mixed few- to 
4- or 5-rayed tiers ; lowest compound rays few-noded, up to over 
6 in. long, bearing secondary tiers only ; ultimate (simple) rays very 
slender, up to 1 \ in. long ; subtending leaves and spathes with well- 
developed blades equalling or overtopping the panicle, glabrous or 
pubescent at the nodes. Spatheoles narrowly cymbiform, lanceo- 
late, long-acuminate, 1 J-2|- in. long, scarious, pale or slightly purplish, 
glabrous, at length more or less inrolled from the margins ; peduncles 
very slender, recurved upwards, beset with fine spreading tubercle- 
based pale hairs up to over 3 lin. long, laterally exserted and at 
length only slightly (by 4 or 5 lin.) shorter than the spatheole. 
Racemes subcontiguous, nodding, at length epinastically re flexed, 
about f-1 in. long, straw-coloured, tinged with pale purple, mostly 
6-awned per pair ; bases subequal, short, not over 1J lin. long, 
pubescent in the fork, upwards with some spreading long hairs 
like those of the peduncles, produced into a linear-oblong pale 
denticulate scarious appendage, 1 lin. long ; joints like the pedicels, 
slender, filiform, to over 1-| lin. long, shortly whitish-ciliate. 
Homogamous pair of spikelets 1 at the base of the lower 
raceme only. Fertile spikelets linear to lanceolate-oblong, in- 
cluding the callus 3| lin. long, pale, shortly villous, flattened 
on the back but rounded on the sides, callus slender, acute, f-1 
lin. long, very densely bearded, hairs whitish, the upper exceeding 
the callus almost by its own length. Glumes equal, thinly charta- 
ceous, lower narrowly truncate, softly villous up to three-quarters 
of its length, then glabrous, 9 -nerved, nerves rather distinct upwards, 
margins involute, inflexed towards the tips only, forming there 
scaberulous keels ; upper glume deltoid-truncate, loosely hairy, 
3-nerved, reversedly ciliate. Lower floret reduced to a narrow 
linear sub-2-nerved reversedly ciliate hyaline valve. Upper floret 
^ : valve stipitiform, minutely 2-dentate ; awn 2-3 in. long, fulvous 
to dark brown, hirtellous ; valvule 0. Pedicelled spikelets neuter, 
linear-lanceolate, up to 5 lin. long, pubescent to villous or glabrous, 
pale ; lower glume produced into a fine bristle 3-4 lin. long, sub- 
herbaceous, 11 -nerved, keels scabrid upwards ; upper glume mem- 
branous, very acute, usually more or less hairy upwards, 3-nerved, 
ciliate ; valves hyaline, linear, reversedly ciliate, 1 -nerved, the lower 
about 4 lin. long, the upper slightly shorter. Homogamous spikelets 
