A Handbook Of Some South Indian Grasses Part 34

The _leaf-sheaths_ are glabrous, compressed, upper sheaths somewhat inflated; mouth of the sheath is bearded with long hairs in the leaves of young branches and quite glabrous when old and in flower-bearing branches, margins are thin and membranous. The ligule is a thin narrow membranous ridge.

The _leaf-blades_ are rather narrow, linear, flat, acute, glabrous when old, and with scattered long hairs in the leaves of young branches, varying in length from 2 to 9 and sometimes even 15 inches and in breadth about 1/8 inch or less.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 198.--Chloris virgata.

1. Spikelet; 2 and 3, the first and second glumes; 4 and 5. the third glume and its palea; 6. lodicules, stamens and the ovary; 7. the fourth glume; 8. grain.]

The _inflorescence_ consists of from four to nine spikes digitately arranged on a long peduncle and the leaf-sheath enclosing the inflorescence is somewhat large and inflated. Spikes are 1 to 1-1/2 inches long with fine, angular rachis, scaberulous in the edges.

_Spikelets_ are about 1/10 inch, 2-awned, shortly stalked and consist of only four _glumes_. The _first glume_ is small lanceolate, glabrous, with the keel scaberulous, 1-nerved. The _second glume_ is about one and a half times the first, oblong-lanceolate, 2-fid at the apex, glabrous, but the keel scaberulous and nerve produced between the lobes into a short scaberulous awn. The _third glume_ is oblong-ovate, lanceolate, 2-fid at the apex, and awned in the sinus, awn being about 1/4 inch long bearded at the base, the margins are slightly ciliate up to about the middle and then closely ciliate with long hairs almost to the tip, but not to the tip; on the two sides of the dorsal nerve there are two shallow grooves one on each side, with short scattered appressed hairs; the palea is narrow oblanceolate, minutely 2-fid at the tip, with margins folded inward and embracing the _stamens_, _ovary_ and the _lodicules_. Grain is narrow, trigonous, oblong, translucent and shining. The _fourth glume_ is borne by a short rachilla which is about 1/3 the length of the third glume or less, shorter than the third, cuneiform, empty and awned.

This gra.s.s grows well and produces a fair amount of foliage.

_Distribution._--This is not very common. So far collected only from Hosur in Salem district and Bellary district although its distribution is said to be Central and Southern India. It was found growing abundantly on old walls of houses in Poona city in 1920 and 1921.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 199.--Chloris barbata (perennial plant).]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 200.--Chloris barbata.]

=Chloris barbata, _Sw._=

This is a very common perennial gra.s.s.

Stems are stout, tufted, geniculately ascending and erect when in flower, and some creeping and rooting at the nodes; leafy at the base and branching upwards, 1 to 3 feet; the lower internodes are 2 to 3 inches long and the upper still longer, glabrous.

The _leaf-sheaths_ are glabrous, compressed laterally, open at the base and closed above, with a few scattered long hairs at the mouth, the margins thinly membranous. The _ligule_ is a very narrow membrane. The _nodes_ are glabrous mostly bearing tufts of leaves with compressed equitant sheaths.

The _leaf-blade_ is narrow linear, flat or folded, ac.u.minate, with long hairs on the margin towards the base, varying in length from 2 to 18 inches.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 201.--Chloris barbata.

1 to 5. the first, second, third, fourth and the fifth glume of a spikelet; 3a and 3b. the third glume and its palea; 3c. ovary, stamens and lodicules; 4a and 5a. the fourth and fifth glumes; 6. grain.]

The _inflorescence_ consists of five to fourteen or fifteen sessile, digitately arranged spikes, varying in length from 1-1/2 to 3 inches, on a slender peduncle; the rachis is slender minutely hairy swollen at the base.

The _spikelets_ are green or purplish, 3-awned, unilaterally biseriate on the outside of the rachis, 1/10 inch excluding the awn; the _rachilla_ is bearded at the base, but is shorter than the third glume and bears two barren glumes. There are five _glumes_. The _first_ and the _second glumes_ are lanceolate, acute, membranous, pale and 1-nerved, but the first glume is shorter than the second. The _third glume_ is broadly elliptic or ovate, concave, awned, 3-nerved, with margins densely bearded above the middle and spa.r.s.ely bearded dorsally on both the sides of the mid-nerve; the _palea_ is oblanceolate, as long as the glume, folded inside along the margins and outside along the middle, enclosing three _stamens_ and _ovary_. The _fourth glume_ is cuneiform, 3-nerved, awned, shortly ciliate above the middle, empty. The _fifth glume_ is awned, 3-nerved, glabrous, and globose.

This gra.s.s is very widely distributed and it grows in all kinds of soils. Cattle eat it when young, but avoid it when the inflorescence is mature.

_Distribution._--Throughout the plains in India, Burma and Ceylon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 202.--Chloris Bournei.

1. Full plant; 2. leaf showing ligule.]

=Chloris Bournei, _Rang. & Tad._=

This gra.s.s appears to be perennial. The stems are somewhat stout, tufted, erect or ascending geniculately from a creeping and rooting base, varying in length from 1 to 3 feet and with internodes to 6 inches becoming longer upwards.

The _leaf-sheaths_ are equal to or longer than the internodes at the base, but shorter above, glabrous, compressed, distichous, bearded towards the mouth and with membranous margins. The _ligule_ is a narrow membranous ridge. _Nodes_ are thickened, deeply purple ringed, glabrous and the lower nodes always with a fan-like tuft of flattened leaf-sheaths and leaves.

The _leaf-blades_ are linear, finely ac.u.minate, slightly broadened and rounded at the base, keeled, the upper surface scaberulous and with a few scattered long hairs especially towards the base, smooth or slightly scaberulous below, 1 to 9 inches by 1/12 to 1/4 inch.

The _inflorescence_ consists of digitately arranged spikes 1-1/2 to 4 inches long on a peduncle which is sometimes 15 inches long. _Spikes_ are stout, purple-tinged, three to seven and even nine in some specimens, shortly stalked, the base of the stalk being slightly swollen and villous at the base, the rachis is slender, somewhat villous towards the base.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 203.--Chloris Bournei.

1 to 5. The glumes in order; 3a and 3b. the third glume and its palea; 3c. flower; 4a and 4b. the fourth glume and its palea; 5a. fifth glume; 6. a spikelet with four awned glumes; 7. grain.]

The _spikelets_ are about 1/8 inch excluding the awn, very shortly pedicelled, biseriate, unilateral, disarticulating above the first two glumes which are persistent, purplish or pale, 1- to 3-flowered, usually 3- to 4-awned and sometimes 5-awned; _awns_ are purplish 3/16 to 5/16 inch long, finely scabrid. There are five or seven _glumes_ in a spikelet. The _first glume_ is hyaline, purplish or pale, about 1/10 inch long, lanceolate, sub-ac.u.minate, 1-nerved with a scaberulous keel.

The _second glume_ is hyaline, about one and half times as long as the first, oblong elliptic, minutely 2-lobed at the apex, with a minute mucro between, 1-nerved with a scabrid keel. The _third glume_ is as long as the second, awned, pale or purple, ovate or obovate, narrowed at the base and clasping the rachilla at its base, apex shortly 2-fid with a purple dorsal awn, 3-nerved paleate; the two marginal nerves are densely bearded with long white or purple tinged hairs from near the base to almost the apex and the mid-nerve also similarly bearded with long hairs on both sides, and the base with a tuft of long hairs; the palea is as long as the glume, coriaceous obovately-cuneate, obtuse, minutely bifid, purple-tipped, with folded hyaline margins, 2-keeled; keels shortly ciliate. _Stamens_ three with yellow or purple anthers, _ovary_ with two feathery _stigmas_ and two _lodicules_. Grain is oblong shining light reddish brown, narrowed at both ends and somewhat trigonous. The remaining glumes _fourth_ to _seventh_ are borne by the rachilla, thinly chartaceous, broadly obcordate or obovate, gradually diminishing in size, purple-tinged, 3- to 5-nerved, scaberulous. The fourth and fifth glumes are empty and epaleate when the spikelets are five glumed. If there are six glumes, the _fourth_ bears stamens and the ovary, the _fifth_ and _sixth glumes_ are empty, and in spikelets of seven glumes, the third, fourth, and the fifth glumes are flower-bearing and contain grains, and the remaining two glumes are empty.

This species is a tall robust one resembling _Chloris barbata_ in its inflorescence, but with larger spikelets--as large as those of _Chloris tenella_. No doubt it is closely allied to _Chloris barbata_, but differs from it by having larger spikelets that are 3- to 5-awned and 1- to 3-flowered, and the nerves being bearded throughout their length with long hairs.

Specimens of this gra.s.s were sent to Kew and Calcutta herbariums for identification and they were named _C. montana_, with which I could not agree.

So again I sent these specimens along with specimens of what I considered _C. montana_ to Dr. Stapf at Kew through Mr. Gamble and Dr.

Stapf wrote about these thus:--"We have not been able to match it with any of the described species of _Chloris_ and Mr. Ranga Acharya will be fully justified in describing it as a new species. We have had it apart from Wight's specimen from the following collections:--(1) Sattur, November 19, 1795, sub-Andropogon barbata, Var.? Herb Rottler. (2) Ahmednagar-Miss Shattock (U.S. Dept. Agri.--received 1914).

(3)Tornagallu, Bellary district, 11th August 1901 (Ex herb Ranga Acharya in Herb, Bourne No. 3594)."

_Distribution._--This gra.s.s was found growing in abundance in the fields Nos. 13, 37 and 62 of the Agricultural College and in the grounds around the Forest College, Coimbatore, and was also collected in Hagari and Samalkota.

This gra.s.s grows well and is likely to prove useful, as cattle seem to like it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 204.--Chloris montana.]

=Chloris montana, _Roxb._=

This is a perennial gra.s.s usually met with on dry soils. The stems are erect, tufted, geniculately ascending from a creeping base rooting at the nodes, quite glabrous, varying in length from 4 inches to 4 feet.

The _leaf-sheaths_ are shorter than the internodes, flat, compressed, glabrous, with a few hairs or not at the mouth and with membranous margins; the uppermost sheath is spathiform enclosing the inflorescence when young. The _ligule_ consists of only a thin ridge of short hairs densely arranged. _Nodes_ are glabrous and dark-ringed, and with fan-like spreading equitant leaf-sheaths and leaves more especially when rooting.

The _leaf-blades_ are narrow linear, finely ac.u.minate, rounded at the base, glabrous throughout, folded flat inwards, 1/2 to 8 inches long, 1/16 to 1/8 inch broad.

The _inflorescence_ consists of three to six (very rarely up to nine) spikes, 1 to 3 inches long, connate at the base, erect and never spreading, the peduncle is slender, long, glabrous and copiously p.u.b.escent just below the base of the connate spikes; _rachis_ is angular, slender and scabrid.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 205.--Chloris montana.

1. A portion of the spike; 2. a spikelet; 3 and 4. first and second glumes; 5 and 5a. third glume and its palea; 6, 7, 8 and 9. fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh glumes; 10. lodicules, ovary and stamens; 11.

grain.]

The _spikelets_ are about 1/8 inch excluding the awns, shortly pedicelled, unilateral, biseriate, thin and slender, 1-flowered, pale or purple tinged, disarticulating above the two lower empty glumes, which persist on the rachis, generally 4-awned, very rarely 3 or 5; _awns_ are pale or purple, 1/8 to 5/16 inch; pedicel is short, angular, scaberulous with a few pilose hairs; _rachilla_ is produced but is shorter than the flowering glume. There are usually six _glumes_ in a spikelet and very rarely five or seven glumes; of these the first two _glumes_ are hyaline, empty, awnless; the third is flower-bearing and the rest empty, thinly coriaceous and awned. The _first glume_ is white or lightly purplish, small, about 1/16 inch long, lanceolate, finely ac.u.minate, 1-nerved, and with scabrid keel. The _second glume_ is twice the first glume in length, oblong-lanceolate, finely ac.u.minate, 1-nerved. The _third glume_ is broadly oblong, chartaceous, 3-nerved, bearded with long hairs along the margins from a little above the base, and with a tuft of hairs at the base and an awn at the apex; the palea is oblong, a little smaller than the glume, folded along the margins. There are three _stamens_ with pale yellow anthers. The _styles_ are white with purple _stigmas_. _Lodicules_ are narrowly cuneate. The _fourth_ and the _fifth glumes_ are small, epaleate, empty, oblong, cuneate, 3-nerved, awned.

The _sixth glume_ is very small, cuneate, awned.

_Distribution._--In the districts forming the Coromandel Coast and also Gangetic plains and Ceylon.