370 
cl vii. GRAMiNEiE (Stapf). [Hypanhenia. 
has a very weak inflorescence as if grown in the shade or under some other 
unfavourable conditions which may have caused the elongation of those 
organs. A similar modification has also been observed in a fragmentary 
specimen collected by Chevalier in S. Thome, no. 13785. It is therefore almost 
certain that Andropogon pachyneurus represents only a growth form of H. 
diplandra. All the West African specimens from the Ivory Coast East south- 
wards have a slightly different facies from those collected in the Soudan 
region, the spikelets being darker, their racemes on the whole slightly less stout 
and the hairs of the awns somewhat longer. 
Another, apparently anomalous, condition is represented by a specimen 
collected by Eyffe at Entebbe in Uganda. In this all the sessile spikelets 
are awnless, the valve of the upper floret being narrowly oblong, acute, 3 -nerved 
up to three-quarters where the lateral nerves join the middle nerve which runs 
out into a minute fine point. It is accompanied by a hyaline nerveless 
valvule about f lin. long ; the § flower is apparently normal with the 
anthers 1-1 1 lin. long. 
50. H. pachystachya, Stapf. Perennial (?). Culms (base not known) 
terete, stout, 2 lin. in diam., simple below, lowest internodes not seen, 
\ ft. long, glabrous, smooth. Leaf-sheaths terete, tight, glabrous 
and smooth, rarely slightly villosulous at the nodes ; ligules firmly 
scarious, truncate, 1 \ lin. long, ciliolate ; blades linear from an equally 
wide base, long-tapering to a slender point up to 2 ft. (or possibly 
more) long, up to over 3 lin. wide, very firm, flat, green or dull purple 
above, pale green below, glabrous, very scabrid along the margins 
and on the submarginal nerves, otherwise smooth on both sides ; 
midrib rather slender, whitish above, lateral nerves numerous, close, 
3 or 4 on each side, more raised. Spatheate panicle narrow, inter- 
rupted, up to 1|- ft. long, of about 4-5 distant tiers ; lowest tier or 
tiers mixed, 4-6-rayed, rays very unequally long (the compound 
up to over 6 in. long, rarely more than 2-noded) ; the following of 
4-6 usually simple rays, the latter 2J-3 in. long, or in the upper- 
most tiers still shorter, glabrous or more or less hairy towards the 
tips and bearded at the insertion of the spatheole ; lower and inter- 
mediate spathes resembling the preceding leaves with gradually 
decreasing blades. Spatheoles broadly lanceolate, long-acuminate, 
1J-2 \ in. long, up to over 2 lin. wide in profile, at first almost boat- 
shaped, finally inrolled from the margins in the upper part, scarious, 
reddish to copper-red, glabrous or sometimes hairy along the margins ; 
peduncles filiform, 4-8 lin. long, slightly arching, sparingly and 
shortly hairy towards the tips. Racemes at first subcontiguous, 
then more or less spreading and ultimately epinastically reflexed, 
dense, somewhat stout, 7-9 lin. long, almost subglabrous except 
for the cilia of the joints and pedicels, often richly coloured, 2-3- 
awned per pair; bases short, stout, the longer up to 1 lin. long, 
pubescent in the fork without an appendage ; joints linear, obliquely 
truncate, over 1J lin. long, silkily ciliate, hairs increasing upwards 
to 1J lin. ; pedicels similar, up to 2 lin. long with slightly shorter 
cilia. Homogamous pairs of spikelets 2 at the base of each raceme, 
very close, forming an imperfect involucre. Fertile spikelets oblong, 
