A Handbook Of Some South Indian Grasses Part 38

=Eragrostis amabilis, _W. & A._=

This is an annual tufted gra.s.s with slender, glabrous, erect or geniculately ascending stems, 6 to 18 inches, leafy chiefly at the base.

The _leaf-sheath_ is glabrous and smooth. The _ligule_ is absent or very obscure.

The _leaf-blade_ is lanceolate-linear or linear, narrowed from a broad subcordate base to an acute tip, smooth and flat.

The _panicle_ is ovoid-oblong or oblong, open or contracted, sparingly branched; branches are filiform, solitary, ramifying from near the base; rachis and nodes are glabrous.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 218.--Eragrostis amabilis.

1. A portion of a branch with spikelets; 2. a single spikelet; 3 and 4.

empty glumes; 5. and 6. a flowering glume and its palea; 7. lodicules, stamens and ovary; 8. grain.]

The _spikelets_ are ovate-oblong or linear-oblong, pale or purplish 1/6 to 1/2 inch, up to 50-flowered, rachilla is tough with very short internodes. The glumes are very closely and distichously imbricating (and hence spikelets are pretty); the _empty glumes_ are subequal, ovate-lanceolate, acute or cuspidately ac.u.minate, 1-nerved, 1/25 to 1/16 inch long. _Flowering glumes_ are broadly ovate or suborbicular, mucronulate, punctulate, with the lateral nerves equidistant from the margins and the median nerve, and produced far up towards the median nerve; palea is broad, shorter than its glume, deciduous with it, and with winged and scabrid keels. _Stamens_ are three. Grain is obovoid-ellipsoid, smooth, laterally compressed, reddish-brown.

This gra.s.s is abundant in wet places on the hills and fairly common in the plains though not abundant.

_Distribution._--Throughout India and Ceylon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 219.--Eragrostis tremula.]

=Eragrostis tremula, _Hochst._=

This is an elegant annual gra.s.s. Stems are tufted erect or sometimes geniculately ascending, branching freely, 6 inches to 3 feet.

The _leaf-sheath_ is smooth, glabrous, shorter than the internodes, becoming purplish when dry. The _ligule_ is a ridge of short hairs.

The _leaf-blade_ is linear-lanceolate, tapering to a fine point, rigid, glabrous or spa.r.s.ely hairy, but with prominent white hairs near the mouth of the sheath at the base, 1 to 10 inches long and 1/12 to 3/16 inch broad, the base is rounded and the margin eglandular and very finely serrate.

The _inflorescence_ is a large, effuse, nodding, pyramidal or oblong panicle, much branched, the peduncle being as long as the rest of the plant; branches are slender, solitary, suberect, drooping, rather angled, scaberulous, 3 to 7 inches long with very fine capillary branchlets; all the axils of the branches and branchlets have long white hairs.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 220.--Eragrostis tremula.

1. Spikelet; 2 and 3. the first and the second glume; 4 and 5. flowering glume and its palea; 6. stamens, ovary and lodicules.]

The _spikelets_ are linear, narrowed upwards, glabrous, flattened pale green or purple tinged, few to 70-flowered; pedicels are slender and capillary, longer or shorter than the spikelets; rachilla is zigzag and glabrous. The _first two glumes_ are subequal, ovate, acute, one-nerved, keel obscurely scaberulous, membranous. The _third_ and the succeeding _flowering glumes_ are ovate, obtuse, as long as the second glume or slightly longer, sub-chartaceous, glabrous, three-nerved; palea is shorter than the glume, curved obovate oblong and persistent on the rachilla. _Stamens_ are three with small anthers. Style branches are two. _Lodicules_ are minute. Grain is nearly globose, compressed on one side, obscurely rugulose.

This gra.s.s is not very widely distributed although it occurs in some parts of the Presidency. It is common on the West Coast in sandy places.

_Distribution._--From the Punjab to Bengal and Burma and Southward to Carnatic. Also said to occur in Afghanistan and Tropical Africa.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 221.--Eragrostis major.]

=Eragrostis major, _Host._=

This is an annual tufted gra.s.s. Stems are erect or geniculately ascending, usually short, leafy and branched below, glabrous and shining, 1/2 to 2 feet long.

The _leaf-sheath_ is glabrous, striate, shorter than the internodes, keeled with tubercles or glands on the keel and also on some of the smaller nerves on the sides, and bearded with long white hairs externally at the mouth. The nodes are glabrous purple, shining and with a glandular ring below. The _ligule_ is a ridge of long hairs.

The _leaf-blade_ is linear-lanceolate or linear, tapering to a fine point, glabrous, flaccid, margins finely serrulate and glandular, base rounded, varying in length from 1/2 to 10 inches and in breadth 3/16 to 7/16 inch; the midrib is prominent and with a row of glands beneath and there are 3 to 5 lateral nerves on each side of the mid-nerve.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 222.--Eragrostis major.

1. A branch with spikelets; 2 and 3. empty glumes; 4 and 5. flowering glume and its palea; 6. grain.]

The _panicle_ is ovate or ovate-oblong, on a short, smooth peduncle, usually open and stiff; branches are usually many, sub-solitary or fascicled, spreading or suberect, capillary, stiff, again branching from near the base and about 3 inches long; _rachis_ is angular, with glands and tufts of spa.r.s.e white hairs at the angles of branches and branchlets.

_Spikelets_ are linear to ovate-oblong, compressed, pale or green, sometimes purple tinged at the base, few to 40-flowered and occasionally up to 70-flowers, 1/8 to 1 inch.

The _empty glumes_ are subequal or the first is a little shorter, ovate, acute, membranous, keeled, and sometimes the keels with glands; the _first glume_ is usually one-nerved (rarely obscurely one- to three-nerved) and the _second glume_ is three-nerved.

The _flowering glumes_ are broadly ovate, oblique, obtuse, sometimes with a minute mucro, sub-chartaceous, punctulate, strongly three-nerved, paleate, about 1/12 inch long; palea is shorter than the glume, curved, obovate-oblong, keels ciliolate and persistent. _Stamens_ are three with very small pale yellow anthers. Stigmas are two and white. _Lodicules_ are very small. Grain is globose reddish brown, minutely and obscurely lineolate.

This gra.s.s is a very common weed occurring in cultivated dry fields all over this Presidency.

_Distribution._--Throughout India and Ceylon in the plains and low hills. Occurs also in tropical and sub-tropical parts of Asia and Africa.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 223.--Eragrostis Willdenoviana.]

=Eragrostis Willdenoviana, _Nees._=

This is a tufted annual. Stems are leafy at the base, erect or geniculately ascending, slender but rigid, varying in length from 4 to 18 inches.

The _leaf-sheath_ is smooth, cylindric, glabrous, outer margin ciliate; tufts of long hairs are present at the sides of the margin of the sheath, just outside close to the hyaline patch. The _ligule_ is a fringe of short white hairs. The _nodes_ are greenish or with a tinge of purple, glabrous and with a glandular ring below.

The _leaf-blade_ is lanceolate-linear, pointed, flat, rigid, the margin is very minutely serrulate, glandular and occasionally also with fine long hairs; the upper surface is somewhat rough, the lower smooth and both with fine long scattered hairs or glabrous.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 224.--Eragrostis Willdenoviana.

1. Spikelets; 1_a._ 1st glume; 2 and 2_a._ the second glume; 3 and 3a.

the flowering glume; 4. palea of the flowering glume; 5. lodicules, stamens and the ovary; 6. grain.]

The _inflorescence_ is a stiff open panicle, ovate to oblong, 2 to 4-1/2 inches long on a slender, terete, glabrous peduncle; the main _rachis_ is angular, slender with glandular scars, a little below the attachment of the branches; the branches are capillary, grooved stiff and spreading with small glandular scars just above the node. The _spikelets_ are elliptic-oblong to linear, 1/8 to 3/4 inch by about 1/20 inch, greenish or tinged with purple, few to about 25 (or sometimes even up to 42) glumed, pedicellate; pedicel is capillary, grooved and angular, with a glandular ring about the middle, spreading sometimes at right angles, rachilla is persistent.

Empty _glumes_ are unequal. The first _glume_ is hyaline very small, nerveless or one-nerved, subacute or subobtuse; the second _glume_ is much longer than the first glume, ovate-oblong subacute, keeled, membranous and one-nerved. _Flowering glumes_ vary from about 12 to 30 and in some well grown plants as many as 42, broadly ovate, obtuse or subacute, rigidly membranous, three-nerved (one median and two marginal) glabrous, keeled and keels are scaberulous near the apex; palea is oblong linear, a little curved, persistent, a little smaller than the glume, two-keeled; there are three _stamens_ with small purplish anthers and two small _lodicules_. The grain is oblong truncate at both ends, reddish brown, with a prominent groove on the dorsal side; embryo occupying nearly half the length of the grain.

This gra.s.s grows abundantly in somewhat rich soils all over the Presidency and cattle eat it. It grows quickly and bears a fair amount of foliage.

_Distribution._--Madras Presidency in the plains; also occurs in Ceylon.

=Eragrostis pilosa, _Beauv._=