ll 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.

[Illustration: Fig. 202.--Chloris Bournei.

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

=Chloris Bournei, _Rang. & Tad._=

This grass 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 acuminate, 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.

[Illustration: 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-acuminate, 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