The leaf-blades are narrow linear, finely acuminate, 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 pubescent just below the base of the connate spikes; rachis is angular, slender and scabrid.
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 acuminate, 1-nerved, and with scabrid keel. The second glume is twice the first glume in length, oblong-lanceolate, finely acuminate, 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.
37. Eleusine, Gaertn.
These are annual or perennial grasses. Leaves are long or short. The spikelets are sessile, 3 to 12 flowered, 2 to 3-seriate, secund, laterally compressed and forming digitate whorled or capitate spikes, not joined at the base; rachilla continuous between the flowering glumes. The glumes in a spikelet are few to many, keeled. The first two glumes are subequal or unequal, persistent; the first glume is 1-nerved and the second glume is 1- to 7-nerved. The flowering glumes are 3-nerved, paleate; palea is complicate; keels are strong, scabrid or ciliate. Lodicules are two, cuneate. Anthers are short. Styles distinct and short. Grain is free, rugose, and the pericarp is hyaline and loose.