up of the book I am indebted to Mr. F. L.
Gilbert, Superintendent, Government Press.

K. RANGACHARI.

AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE,
LAWLEY ROAD, COIMBATORE,
_2nd June 1921._

CONTENTS

PAGE
PREFACE iii
CHAPTER I--Introduction 1
II--The vegetative organs 5
III--The inflorescence and flower 13
IV--Histology of the vegetative organs 19
V--Classification 43
VI--Panicaceae 45
VII--Oryzeae and Zoysieae 123
VIII--Andropogoneae 138
IX--Agrostideae and Chlorideae 220
X--Festucaceae and Hordeae 283
GLOSSARY 311
INDEX 315

A HANDBOOK OF SOME COMMON SOUTH
INDIAN GRASSES.

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION.

Grasses occupy wide tracts of land and they are evenly distributed in
all parts of the world. They occur in every soil, in all kinds of
situations and under all climatic conditions. In certain places grasses
form a leading feature of the flora. As grasses do not like shade, they
are not usually abundant within the forests either as regards the number
of individuals, or of species. But in open places they do very well and
sometimes whole tracts become grass-lands. Then a very great portion of
the actual vegetation would consist of grasses.

On account of their almost universal distribution and their great
economic value grasses are of great importance to man. And yet very few
people appreciate the worth of grasses. Although several families of
plants supply the wants of man, the grass family exceeds all the others
in the amount and the value of its products. The grasses growing in
pasture land and the cereals grown all over the world are of more value
to man and his domestic animals than all the other plants taken
together.

To the popular mind grasses are only herbaceous plants with narrow
leaves such as the hariali, ginger gr