A Handbook of Some South Indian Grasses

by K. Rangachari; C. Tadulinga Mudaliyar

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 Seychelle Islands.

35. Cynodon, Pers.

These are perennial grasses 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.