Botanical 
description. 
118 
Fig. 10. False fruit, the short, stout variety 
11. False fruit, the long, slender variety 
12, False fruil, the long, slender variety 
13. False fruit, the short, stout variety 
14. The caryopsis, ventral surface. 
15. The caryopsis, dorsal surface. 
, 16. The caryopsis, side-view. 
17. Transverse section of a lateral shoot, shewing a split sheath, two entire sheaths and 
two leaf-blades. 
18. Transverse section of a culm leaf. 
, 49. The ligule of a culm leaf. 
Crested dogstail forms a louse tuft of grass composed of intravaginal branches. The culm is 
ascending, bent at the base and at times rooting from the basal nodes, smooth and rigid, from one to 
two feet in height. 
The whole leaf-sheath is entire except near the very apex where it is split. 
The leaf-blade when in bud is folded at first; later the margins merely overlap; both stages are 
shewn in fig. 17. When fully developed, the blade opens out; the upper surface always retains a 
slight concavity und has well marked ribs. The transverse section (fig. 18) shews the midrib and ten 
ribs on each side of it, twenty one in all, On the lower surface, the ribs are quite indistinct. To each 
rib corresponds a vein (vascular bundle) and two bundles of bast, one above and one below the vascular 
bundle. With rare exceptions, the bast bundles are always isolated from the vascular bundles. The 
ligule is short and obtuse (fig. 19). 
The inflorescence is a contracted spike-like panicle, its length varies from two to four inches. At 
first (fig. B) the parts, which compose it, are quite compact, and the whole is cylindrical. Later (fig. A) 
the axis lengthens, the parts spread out and become less compact, and the whole inflorescence has 
assumed a somewhat conical form. The axis is triangular and zigzag. 
The spikelets are attached in such a way as to leave one side of the axis quite bare, a very 
characteristic feature. Sometimes the axis becomes twisted; then, of course, the unilateral character is 
lost. The spikelets never occur singly; two or more are always found together attached to a common 
stalk which is very short. These short stalks are fixed upon the axis of inflorescence. 
The spikelets are of two kind, fertile and barren. The barren spikelet (fig. 7) is like a comb 
with two rows of teeth. It is composed of an axis bearing as many as ten pales. These pales are 
narrow, strongly keeled and ciliated, and produce no flowers in their axils 1. e. they are empty. Each 
barren spikelet is placed externally to a fertile one, so as to form an inyolucre for it — the comb- 
like (pectinate) involucre of authors. On the young inflorescence in fact, the barren spikelets cover 
up all the others, and as they are alone visible, the crested appearance of the grass is very marked. 
The fertile spikelet (figs. 1 to 6) is composed of three (figs. 1 and 2) or four flowers and a pair 
of glumes. The g/umes are narrow, almost as long as the whole spikelet, and ciliated on the Keel. 
The lower pale has either no awn or only avery short one, and five indistinct ribs; the back is rounded 
and toward the apex, has stiff, bristly hairs (figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5). The upper pale has two keels very 
close together, and broad margins curved inwards; the apex is obliquely truncate (figs. {, 3, 4 and 6). 
There are two lodicules, half as long as the ovary and overlapping the margins of the upper 
pale (fig. 6). 
The false fruit (figs. 8 to 13) varies much in size; it is either short and stout, three mm. long 
and one mm. broad (figs. 8, 10 to 13), or long and slender 41/2 mm. long and ‘/2 mm. broad (figs. 9, 
14 and 412); all transitions between these extremes occur. The lower pale is always light brown in colour, 
covered towards the apex with rough bristles and finely dotted towards the base. The upper pale is 
dark brown in colour and covered with dark shining dots (probably resin-glands?), The stalk: is 
very short. 
from the dorsal surface. 
2) 
2? 
from the side. 
