A Handbook Of Some South Indian Grasses Part 32

The _spikes_ usually solitary, but occasionally binate, 6 to 10 inches long; rachis is quite smooth and dorsally rounded.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 189.--Enteropogon melicoides.

1. A portion of the spike; 2 and 3. the first and the second glumes; 4.

the spikelet with its callus, flowering glumes and the rachilla; 5 and 8. the third and the fourth glume; 7. the fourth glume and the rachilla; 6 and 9. palea of the third and the fourth glume; 10. ovary, stamens and lodicules; 11. grain front and back view.]

The _spikelets_ are about 1/4 inch long, erecto-patent. There are four _glumes_. The _first glume_ is lanceolate, 1-nerved, and persistent. The _second glume_ is twice as long as the first, linear-lanceolate, with a very short awn and 2-toothed at the tip, 1-nerved, persistent. The _third glume_ is rigid, lanceolate-linear, 3-nerved, scaberulous all over; paleate and awned; awn is nearly as long as the glume, rigid. The _fourth glume_ is similar to the third glume in all respects but shorter. The rachilla is produced beyond the fourth glume and it terminates in an awned rudimentary glume. The third glume as well as the fourth glume contains a perfect flower and the grain is developed always in the third and mostly in the fourth also. The grain is oblong, brownish, dorsally concave and ventrally raised and convex. The grain in the fourth glume is usually much smaller than that found in the third glume.

This usually grows amidst thickets and occurs all over this Presidency.

_Distribution._--Mysore, Burma, Ceylon and Seych.e.l.le Islands.

35. Cynodon, _Pers._

These are perennial gra.s.ses with stems creeping and rooting at the nodes, and producing tufts of barren branches and flowering stems at the nodes. The inflorescence consists of two to six spikes in terminal umbels. The spikelets are small, 1-flowered, laterally compressed, sessile, alternately 2-seriate and imbricate on one side of the rachis.

The spikelet has three glumes. The first two glumes are empty, thin, keeled, and acute or mucronate. The third glume is the largest, boat-shaped, 3-nerved, with ciliate keels, palea is 2-keeled, somewhat shorter than the glume. Lodicules are two. The anthers are somewhat large. Grain is oblong, free.

KEY TO THE SPECIES.

Glumes I and II shorter than III.

Underground stems present.

Hairs on the margins and keels of glume III pointed and not clavate. 1. C. dactylon.

Underground stems absent.

Hairs on the margins and keels of glume III clavellate and pointed at the apex. 2. C. intermedius.

Glume I shorter than II but II equal to or longer than III--

Hairs on the margins and keels of glume III clavellate and rounded at the apex. Underground stems absent. 3. C. Barberi.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 190.--Cynodon dactylon.]

=Cynodon dactylon, _Pers._=

This is a perennial gra.s.s with creeping branches and also with numerous deeply penetrating underground stems covered with white scale-leaves.

Stems are prostrate, widely creeping and rooting at the nodes and forming matted tufts with slender, erect or ascending flowering branches, 3 to 12 inches high.

The _leaf-sheath_ is somewhat tight, glabrous, membranous at the mouth which is villous. The _ligule_ is a fine ciliate rim.

The _leaf-blade_ is soft, narrowly linear, finely acute, ac.u.minate or pungent, somewhat glaucous, conspicuously distichous at the base of the stem and, in non-flowering branches, scabrid along the margins.

The _inflorescence_ consists of two to eight smooth, digitate, green or purplish spikes, 1 to 3 inches long; _rachis_ is slender, compressed or angular, scaberulous.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 191.--Cynodon dactylon.

1. A portion of spike, front view; 2. back view of a bit of spike; 3.

spikelet; 4. first glume; 5. second glume; 6. third glume; 7. palea of third glume and rachilla; 8. lodicules, ovary and anthers; 9. hairs on the margin and keel of third glume.]

_Spikelets_ are laterally compressed, sessile, imbricate, arranged alternately in two series along one side of the rachis; _rachilla_ produced beyond the first two glumes and hidden at the back of the palea between the two keels, small, slender and blunt when old and with a membranous imperfect glume when young, less than half the length of the spikelet. There are three _glumes_. The _first_ and _second glumes_ are shorter than the third, empty, ovate-lanceolate, acute, membranous with one thick green nerve in the middle, keeled, upper margin and keel scaberulous. The _second glume_ is usually a little longer than the first, but occasionally also slightly shorter than the first. The _third glume_ is longer than both the first and second glumes, obliquely oblong to ovate, subacute, membranous, boat-shaped, smooth, keeled, 3-nerved, one central along the keel and two marginal, keel scabrid below with stiff pointed hairs above, tip and lower margins scabrid or pilose, _palea_ linear oblong, a little less than the third glume, obtuse, 2-nerved and with two scabrid keels. _Stamens_ are three with pale purple anthers. _Lodicules_ are two. Stigmas are purplish. Grain is oblong, slightly flattened, dorsally rounded, dull reddish-brown.

This is the common Hariali gra.s.s. It is also called "Devil's gra.s.s."

_Distribution._--It is cosmopolitan.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 192.--Cynodon intermedius.]

=Cynodon intermedius, _Rang. & Tad._=

This gra.s.s is a widely creeping perennial.

The stems are slender, glabrous, creeping superficially and rooting at the nodes, but never rhizomiferous, leafy with slender erect or geniculately ascending flowering branches, and varying in length from 12 to 18 inches. _Nodes_ are slightly swollen, glabrous, green or purplish.

The _leaf-sheath_ is smooth, glabrous, slightly compressed, spa.r.s.ely bearded at the mouth, shorter than the internode, except the one enclosing the peduncle which is usually long. The _ligule_ is a shortly ciliated rim.

The _leaf-blade_ is linear, flat, finely ac.u.minate, scaberulous above and along the margins, smooth below except in some portions of the midrib, 1/2 to 7 inches in length and 3/16 to 1/4 inch in breadth.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 193.--Cynodon intermedius.

1 and 2. Front and back view of a portion of a spike; 3. a spikelet; 4.

first glume; 5. second glume; 6. third glume; 7. palea with the rachilla at its back; 8. lodicules, stamens and the ovary; 9. clavellate and pointed hairs of the margins and keel of the third glume (very much enlarged); 10. grain.]

The _inflorescence_ consists of four to eight long, thin, slender, slightly drooping, digitately arranged spikes, 2 to 4 inches long on a long smooth peduncle; the rachis is tumid and p.u.b.escent at its base, slender, somewhat compressed and scaberulous.

The _spikelets_ are rather small, narrow, greenish or purplish, 1/15 inch long or less, the rachilla is slender, produced to about half the length of the spikelet behind the palea. There are three _glumes_. The _first_ and the _second glumes_ are lanceolate acute or ac.u.minate, 1-nerved, keeled, keel obscurely scabrid, very unequal, the first glume being always shorter than the second glume. The _third glume_ is obliquely ovate-oblong, chartaceous, longer than the second glume, obtuse or subacute and 3-nerved; the margins and keel with close set clavellate hairs pointed at the apex; _palea_ is chartaceous, 2-keeled, keels obscurely scaberulous and without hairs. There are three _stamens_ with somewhat small purple anthers. _Ovary_ with purple stigmas and two small _lodicules_. Grain is oblong reddish brown, with a faint dorsal groove.

This species is closely allied to the cosmopolitan species _Cynodon dactylon_, Pers. and to another new species _Cynodon Barberi_, Rang. & Tad. described in the "Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society,"

Volume 24, part IV, page 846, and it is therefore named _Cynodon intermedius_. (See Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, Volume 26, part I, pages 304 and 305.) This gra.s.s differs from _Cynodon dactylon_, Pers. (1) in not having underground stems and having only stems creeping and rooting along the surface of the ground, (2) in having less rigid leaves, (3) by having longer, slenderer, somewhat drooping spikes and narrower spikelets, (4) by having the first two glumes always unequal, the second being longer, (5) by having clavellate pointed hairs on the margins and keels of the third glume and (6) by having smaller anthers. Compared with _Cynodon Barberi_, this plant is more extensively creeping with longer slender branches and the leaves are usually very much longer, and the third glume is longer than the second.

_Distribution._--So far, this was collected at Gokavaram in G.o.davari district No. 8262, in Chingleput No. 11488, in Tinnevelly district Nos. 13129 and 13259, and at Kallar on the Nilgiris No. 13988.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 194.--Cynodon Barberi.]

=Cynodon Barberi, _Rang. & Tad._=

This gra.s.s is perennial with slender, creeping stems, 12 to 24 inches long, rooting at the nodes and invariably with two or three rarely more branches from each node; flowering branches are slender, erect or ascending, 1 to 6 inches long.

The _leaf-sheath_ is short, smooth, compressed with scattered long hairs at the mouth. The _ligule_ is a narrow membrane with the edge cut into narrow lobes.

The _leaf-blade_ is flat, linear, acute or subacute, scaberulous, 1/3 to 3-1/2 inches long, 1/8 to 3/16 inch broad.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 195.--Cynodon Barberi.