Fig. 141.—Lophopogon tridentatus.
1. Awnless lower spikelet; 2. a lower sessile and an upper pedicelled spikelet; 3. the first glume of an awnless lower spikelet; 4. the first glume of a lower spikelet that is awned; 5. the first, glume of the upper or pedicelled spikelets; 6, 7 and 9. the second, third and the fourth glume, respectively, of the upper pedicelled spikelets; 8 and 10. palea of the third and the fourth glumes; 11. ovary and anthers.
The spikelets are densely imbricate, binate at each joint, the upper being shortly pedicelled and the lower sessile or subsessile. The lower spikelets are 1/5 inch long with a tuft of brownish hairs at the tip of the callus. The lower spikelets at the very base of the inflorescence are awnless and contain only two male flowers, whereas those above in the inflorescence are awned and contain one male flower and one hermaphrodite or female flower.
There are four glumes in the spikelet. The first glume in the awnless spikelets is coriaceous, oblong, cuneate, very sparsely hairy or glabrous, shorter than the second glume, 7-nerved, 5-toothed at the apex, two teeth being broader and shorter and three sharper and longer. The second glume is longer than the first, 1/5 inch long, sub-chartaceous, lanceolate, 3-nerved, 2-fid at the tip and awned or aristate, margin hyaline and with long brownish hairs on the marginal nerves. The third glume is hyaline, a little shorter than the second, lanceolate-linear, tip bifid or irregularly toothed, paleate with two stamens or rarely empty; the palea is linear, about as long as the glume, tip irregularly toothed. The fourth glume is hyaline, as long as the third glume, 2-fid at the tip, awnless with a very minute arista in the cleft or not, paleate with two stamens; palea narrow and hyaline. The first glume of the lower spikelets above is somewhat narrower, 5- or 3-toothed with long hairs at the margins and with tufts of hairs at the back about the middle. The pedicelled or upper spikelets also have four glumes and bear one male flower and one bisexual flower. The first glume is shorter than the second glume, narrow, oblong, cuneate, 3-toothed with marginal hairs and tufts of hairs at about the middle at the back, 7-nerved all nerves running straight. The second glume is longer than the first, 1/5 inch long, sub-chartaceous, lanceolate, 2-fid at the tip, awned with hyaline margins, 3- to 7-nerved, marginal nerves with long brown hairs, and also with two tufts of hairs at about the middle or without it. The third glume is hyaline, nerveless, linear-lanceolate, shorter than the second glume, tip irregularly toothed or unequally bifid, paleate with two stamens; palea is linear about as long as the glume. The fourth glume is hyaline, about 1/6 inch long, lanceolate, 2-fid at the tip, awned in the cleft, lobes are hairy; awn is 3/4 inch long, paleate, usually bisexual, rarely female; palea is two-thirds of the glume in height, broadly ovate or quadrate, lobulate at the apex. Styles are very long, purple, anthers long, yellow. Grain narrow ellipsoidal or cylindric as long as the palea.
This grass is found in Chingleput, Nellore and Chittoor districts in open waste places in loamy soils.
Distribution.—The Konkan, Kanara and Central Provinces.
24. Apluda, L.
These are tall leafy slender perennial grasses, with branching stems erect or geniculately ascending from a creeping or decumbent base. The inflorescence is a leafy panicle of many small spikes enclosed in spathiform bracts. Spikes are of one linear joint gibbously bulbous at the base, and jointed on the peduncle at the base of the spathe by a minute curved pedicel. Spikelets are three, a sessile, 2-flowered bisexual one in front, and two pedicelled ones behind, one of which is imperfect and reduced to a glume and the other perfect male or rarely bisexual. The two pedicels are flat, prolonged from one side of the rounded rachis, oblong linear, truncate with a few long hairs along the margin. Sessile spikelets have four glumes. The first glume is chartaceous, linear oblong, many-nerved, shortly bifid at the apex, longer than the other glumes. The second glume is thinner, dorsally gibbous, keeled, 5- to 9-nerved, beaked and minutely bifid. The third glume is hyaline, oblong, acute, 3-nerved, paleate and male. The fourth glume is hyaline, deeply bifid, awned in the sinus, bisexual with a minute palea. The pedicelled spikelet has also four glumes. The first and the second glumes are nearly equal, rather chartaceous. linear-oblong, acute or acuminate, many-nerved. The third glume is hyaline, oblong-lanceolate, 3-nerved, paleate and male. The fourth glume is hyaline, bifid, paleate, 1-nerved, female or bisexual. Lodicules are two. Stamens are three. Grain is oblong.