438 
GBA.MINE.ffi. 
[Panicum. 
ascending capillary branches ; pedicels at most not longer than the 
spikelet ; spikelets glossy, oblong, subacute, glabrous, in. long. 
Trin. Ic. t. 236. P. brevifolium, Bojer , Hort. Maur. 365, not Linn. 
Var. P. SEEPEN3, Kunth , Enum. i. 117. Sheaths, leaves and spikelets 
pilose. P. repens, Bees in Mart. Bras. 236, not Linn. P. umbellatum, 
Trin. Biss. ii. 238. P. pygmseum, Spreng. ; Bojer , Hort. Maur. 365, not 
R. Br. 
Mauritius, Seychelles, and Rodriguez, frequent in dry soil. Sieber, ii. 34, re- 
ferred by Kunth to P. repens , Linn., belongs here. Also Guinea and Tropical 
America. Gros Ghiendent. 
16. P. colonum, Linn. Sp. Plant. 84. Annual, densely tufted, 
glabrous. Stems terete, 1-2 feet high, bearing several leaves. Upper 
sheaths 2-3 in. long ; blade linear, acuminate, glabrous, 4-6 in. long, 
i in. broad. Panicle 2-4 in. long, formed of 5-9 dense ascending 
spikes f-f in. long; rachis narrow, flattened, glabrous or pilose ; spike- 
lets crowded, ovoid, acute, in. long, pale green or purplish, finely 
pilose. Awn of the empty flower very short. Trin. Ic. t. 160. Oplis- 
menus colonus, H. B. K; Kunth, Enum. i. 142. 
Mauritius and Seychelles, common in marshes and damp fields, Sieber , ii. 31, 
etc. Cosmopolitan in the tropics. Resembles Paspalum brizoides in habit. 
* P. Crus-galli, Linn. Sp. 83 ; Trin. Ic. 161-163 (Oplismenus, Kunth ; 
Echinocbloa, Beauv.), a common weed through the warmer zones of 
both hemispheres, occurs casually in Mauritius. It is like P. colonum , 
but more robust, with rather broader leaves, a panicle half a foot long 
with many ascending branches reaching 1-14 in. long, oblong acute, 
spikelets f in. long, glume of the lower flower furnished with an 
awn i n - long, which is sometimes abortive. 
17. P. Balfourii, Baker. Annual, tufted, glabrous. Stems slender, 
trailing, a foot long. Leaves numerous ; upper sheaths imbricated, \-2 
in. long; blade lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous, 2-3 in. long, f in. 
broad at the middle. Spikelets solitary, laxly disposed on a glabrous 
simple rachis, oblong, acute, glabrous, 4 in. long. Awn twice as long 
as the spikelet. Oplismenus acuminatus, Bees . 
Rodriguez, Br. Balfour ! Also Tropical Asia. Closely allied to P. undulati- 
folium, Ard. 
18. P. Burmanni, Betz. ; Trin. Ic. 1. 193. Annual, tufted. Stems 
slender, trailing, a foot or more long, many-leaved ; upper sheaths an 
inch long, pilose or glabrous ; blade 1-1| in. long, lanceolate, acute, 
4-f in. broad, often pilose. Panicle 2-3 in. long, composed of 4-8 
ascending spikes f— | in. long, with a densely pilose rachis ; spikelets 
crowded, pale green, oblong, acute, in. long, densely pilose. Awn 
2-3 times as long as the empty glume. Oplismenus Burmanni, Beauv. ; 
Kunth, Enum. i. 139. Panicum hirtellum, Burm. El. bid. 24, t. 12, 
