PASPALUM. 
on amoift clay foil. The leaves are an inch wide, hairy- 
on their upper fide, as well as about the ftipule on both 
fides 5 their rtieaths long, fmooth, ribbed. Flowers nu¬ 
merous, fmall, rather loofely difpofed in alternate pairs, 
on twin or combined ftalks 5 their glumes very nearly 
orbicular, obtufe, fomewhat hairy, fingle-ribbed. 
16. Pafpalum repens, or creeping pafpalum : fpikes 
numerous, crowded, fomewhat whorled, fpreading every 
way, naked at the bafe; flowers alternate, elliptical, 
acute ; leaves and receptacle rough. Native of Surinam, 
according to Bergius, who defcribes the Item a foot or 
more in length, ftriated, fmooth, jointed, leafy, creep¬ 
ing by means of fibrous roots thrown out at the joints. 
Leaves linear-lanceolate, acute, fcarcely a finger’s length, 
ftriated, downy, dark green, with a Iheathing bafe, 
which in his figure and defcription is reprefented as fly¬ 
ing oft' from the Item, probably in confequence of drying 
or prefl'ure ; the upper Iheatbs are fmooth, the lower 
roughilh with minute points. Flowers ranged alter¬ 
nately, but folitary, and not in pairs, each on a Ihort 
ftalk. 
17. Pafpalum ftoloniferum, or ftoloniferous pafpalum : 
fpikelets fpiked; rachis waved ; flowers alternate, di¬ 
rected one way; Item knee-jointed, proftrate at the 
bafe, and ftoloniferous. Root perennial, fibrofe, whitifh; 
Culm flexuofe, fmooth, cylindric, two feet high, folid, 
rooting at the knots; branches alternate. Leaves lanceo¬ 
late, fmooth, flightly ftreaked,a little waved at the edge, 
often three inches long, and eight lines wide. Sheath 
a little fliorter than its internode, ftipuled and ruflet at 
the top : each ftieath, befides the part of the Item which 
belongs to it, inclofes the rudiment of another Item. 
Stipule very Ihort, ciliate, whitilh. Spike Ample, five 
or fix inches long. Common peduncle or rachis alter¬ 
nate, membranaceous, ciliate at the edge, feven or eight 
lines long, and a line wide, bearing on its lower furface 
as far as eighteen flowers ; pedicel flatted, fcarcely a line 
in length 5 calyx ruflet; valves oblong, ciliate at the 
point, very much waved on the fides, principally at the 
bafe; the upper convex, the lower concave; antherse 
elongated, twin, reddilh. Germen oval, very fmall and 
fmooth. Styles the length of the corolla; ftigmas nearly 
the fame length, white and very hairy ; they ifl'ue from 
the flower and bend to each fide at the time of fecunda¬ 
tion. Seed covered by the corolla, and of the fame fize 
and colour with it truncate at the top of the convex 
fide, and a little grooved on the flat fide : fubftance 
horny, femitranfparent. It differs from this genus only 
in having the corolla fhorter than the calyx, and the 
filaments longer than the flower. It is a native pf Peru, 
whence it pafted into Spain and France. It has been 
cultivated with fuccefs at Paris. The feeds have been 
in part abortive; but, as it runs at the root, it may be 
eafily increafed. The height and abundance of its 
Items, the fize of its leaves, and the fucculence of all its 
parts, render it a proper grafs for cultivation. But thefe 
grades from hot countries never are found to anfwer in 
England. 
This fpecies, which is very particularly defcribed and 
figured in the Linn. Tranf. vol. ii. by Monf. Louis Bofc, 
is reprefented on the annexed Plate, fig. 1. of the natural 
fize, the Item being cut off in the middle on account of 
the height. The parts are alfo exhibited in feparate 
figures beneath; where b is a front view of one of the 
fpikelets of the natural fize ; c, the fame magnified ; d, 
back view of the fame ; c, common peduncle, magnified ; 
f, an expanded or blowing flower attached to the com¬ 
mon peduncle; g, the calyx feen from above; h, under 
view of the fame; i, the corolla 5 /c, the piftil and fta- 
mens. 
18. Pafpalum corymbofum; fpikes feveral, alternate, 
corymbofe; the lower ones longed ; flowers alternate, 
nearly orbicular, fmooth, almoft feflile; receptacle wavy ; 
leaves and Iheaths hairy. Gathered by Dr. Afzelius at 
Sierra Leone. The lower part of the Item is decumbent, 
Vol. XVIII. No. 1278. 
737 
and bent at the joints; the reft ere£t, leafy, about 
eighteen inches high. Leaves rather narrow, and Iharp- 
pointed. 
19. Pafpalum orbiculare ; fpikes alternate, diftinft, 
briltly at the bafe; flowers alternate, nearly orbicular, 
fmooth; their outer glume three-ribbed ; leaves flat; 
thickened and toothed at the margin ; gathered by 
Forfter in the Society Iflands; by Mr. Brown in the 
tropical part of New Holland, as well as near Port Jack- 
fon. 
20. Pafpalum pubefcens, or downy pafpalum : fpikes 
alternate, diftimft, feftlle ; flowers ovate, downy ; their 
outer glume three-ribbed ; leaves flat, hairy, and rough 
above, thickened and toothed at the margin. Gathered 
by Mr. Brown, in the tropical part of New Holland. 
21. Pafpalum littorale, or Ihore-loving pafpalum : 
fpikes two or three, alternate, downy at the bafe ; flowers 
ovate, acute, fmooth ; leaves involute, naked ; Item 
comprefled. Found by Mr. Brown and Dr. White in 
the tropical regions of New Holland, as well as near Port 
Jackfon. 
22. Pafpalum hirfutum, or Ihaggy pafpalum: fpikes 
about two, alternate ; flowers many-nerved, fmooth ; 
leaves, Iheaths, Item, and partial flower-ftalks, hairy. 
Sent from China by Bladh. The (terns are ereft, leafy, 
hairy in their upper part. Leaves flat, ribbed, hairy all 
over, as well as their (heaths, which are bearded at the 
top. Spikes nearly ere£t, alternate, two only in Retzius’s 
fpecimen ; their receptacles leafy, narrower than in P. 
fcrobiculatum. Flowers in two rows, alternate, fmooth, 
with three or five ribs, on hairy ftalks. 
23. Pafpalum kora : fpikes two or three, alternate, 
hairy at the bale: flowers orbicular, fmooth, five-ribbed ; 
Item and leaves fmooth ; ftipule hairy. Native of the 
Eaft Indies; lent from Tranquebar, by the Rev. Dr. 
Rottler. 
24. Pafpalum diftichum, or two-fpiked pafpalum : fpikes 
two or three, alternate ; flowers ovate, acute, fmooth, 
three-ribbed; receptacle llraight; leaves fmooth, as well 
as the ftem ; ftipule hairy. Native of moift grafly paf- 
tures in the Weft Indies. The ftem is Ample, near two 
feet high, decumbent at the bafe, very fmooth. Leaves 
flat, according to Swartz ; involute when dry, taper- 
pointed, fmooth; with long fmooth (heaths, crowned 
with a hairy ftipule, and not (as Swartz fays) hairy at 
the bafe. Spikes ufually two, one above the other, fome- 
times three, an inch and a half long, with a linear, even, 
llraight, flat, fmooth, rather-glaucous, receptacle. 
Flowers twenty or thirty, alternate, crowded, nearly 
feflile, ovate, acute, pale, concave on the outfide, with 
three ribs : antherse dark purple ; ftigmas blue. 
25. Pafpalum longiflorum, or long-flowered pafpalum : 
fpikes two, terminal, equal, on Ihort ftalks; flowers 
ovate, pointed, fmooth, three-ribbed; receptacle zigzag; 
root creeping; Hems erect; leaves fmooth ; ftipule hairy. 
Native of the Eaft Indies; fent from Tranquebar, by the 
Rev. Dr. Rottler. This has a long creeping root, like 
Carex arenaria, throwing up, like that, many Items, 
hardlya fpan high, llender, fmooth, leafy, rarely branched. 
Flowers ten or twenty, fituated and fliaped nearly as in 
the laft, but rather more elongated and more pointed, 
flightly convex rather than concave at the back. The 
habit and afpe£t of this grafs refemble Panicum dadtylon ; 
and it appears deftined, like that, to grow in loofe blow¬ 
ing fand, which the many-branched fibres of its roots 
are calculated to bind together and to fix, thus perform¬ 
ing a very important fervice in the economy of nature. 
26. Pafpalum vaginatum, or (heatlved pafpalum: fpikes 
two, terminal, equal, on Ihort ftalks ; flowers ovate, 
pointed, fmooth; receptacle fomewhat zigzag; ftem 
creeping, bent at the joints, branched ; ftipule hairy. 
Native ofpaftures, on a clay (oil, in Jamaica. Our only 
fource of information concerning this fpecies defcribes 
the roots as numerous and thread-fliaped; ftem a foot 
high. 
9 B 27. Pafpalum 
