and perhaps 7. pauperculus. They form the nucleus of the genns, (lad Mr. Duthie will agree with
me if I Bay that the Btruoture of their epikelets diifers too much from those oE hia No. 23632 to
place the latter immediately with the former. A. seooad group of speoies desoribed uader Tripogon
(•viz., T. LUbots, Jacquenwntii), and approaching ia some respects to the section Fiagmiaohy» of
Eragroslit, difEers equally well. Tliere ie, however, another Bpeoiea enumerated uader Tripogon in FL
Brit. l a d . 287, oamely T. abyuiniout, which Mr. Duthie will have to compare very oarefiiUy with
hia plant from the Tons Valley. Some of the Bpeoimens placed in this species ia the Kew
H e r b a r i um I take to be identical with Duthie No. 23532, though the leaves are not so purple.
Such specimens are: Jaoquemont No. 932, ' a b Adjalta ad Tahnao, inter valles Tonsa et S i m l a ';
Thomson, Simla, Aug. 1847; Thomson, Satlej Valley near Rampore, Aug. 1847; Thomson, P u n j ab
Uimalaya, 1848 (Chamba); Thomson, Kashmir, 1848; Aitobison, Eawul Pindi, Ko. 1136. Other
specimens f r om Afghanietan, Kashmir, and one from the Satlej Valley (Thomson, below Kotgorfa,
1847) are taller and have more slender and flexuous spikes, leadiog to an extreme shade form
collected near Simla (Duthie No. 10149), which was referred to T. Jaequemontii in Fl. Brit. Ind.
as a variety Uubmulieu»,' although the author remarks that the ' h a b i t a t ie far removed from that
of all other species' (of the Jacq^temoniii group). Whether thia ia really a distinct species or only
t a n extreme variety of the T. abysiinieas of the Fl. Brit, I n d . , Mr. Duthie will be t e t t e r able
t o judge, knowiog as he does the ground. I must, however, remark that the latter is not identical
with the Abyasinian plant named so by Hoohstetter and Steudel, which is more like a typical
Tripogon of the bromoidss group. The Indian T. abymnwn, inclusive of Duthie No. 23532, might
be regarded aa a much reduced form of the typical Tripogon-, but in this case the definition of
Oropctium would have to be reconsidered. OropsUam is a comparatively little-known genas, and
no doubt, a much reduced type; and as reduction often is accompanied by the obliteration of
oharacters which help us otherwise in establishing the affinity of .mure f u l l y developed epeoies, the
question ia too difficult to be solred without a oompreheusive study of all the alliei genera."
PLATE 92.—Tripogoa purpurasoens Buthie. Plant,—O/NAIUJ-A/ size. Fig, 1, the two outer glumes;
2, a two-flowered spikelet; 3, stamens and pistils (one lodicule also s h o w n ) , — e n l a r g e d.
J . F . D.
1 0 0 . FESTUCA LDCIDA Siapf in Sook. / . Fl. Br. Ini. yii. 355 ( 1 8 9 7 ).
liaiural order G r a m i n e j e.
Stem 6—9 d m , , r a t h e r s t o u t , s m o o t h a n d s h i o i n g ; i n t e r a o d e s 2, e l o n g a t e ; leavet
1 ' 5 t o 3 d m . b y 'o to 1 cm., finely a c u m i n a t e , flat except t h e i n v o l u t e s c a b e r u l o ua
m a r g i n s , firm, s m o o t h , g l a u c o u s , m a n y - n e r v e d ; b a s a l a h e a t h s of i n n o v a t i o n s v e r y l o n g a nd
l o o s e ; c a u l i n e t i g h t e r , pale, g l a u c o u s ; l i g u l e 6—8 mm. long, white, split t o t he
m i d d l e i n t o fine fibres; pmkle 1-2 t o 1-8 dm., lax, b r o a d l y o v a t e ; b r a n c h e s simple
t o b e y o n d . t h e m i d d l e , s c a b r i d ; lowest 1 dm. long, l a t e r a l p e d i c e l s 9 — 1 3 m m .;
ipikehif-y .to 1-5 cm. long, p a l e - g r e e n , g l i s t e n i n g ; r a c h i l l a s c a b r i d ; o u t e r e m p t y glume
1 - n e r v e d , . o v a t e , a c u t e , h y a l i n e e x c e p t at t h e b a s e ; i n n e r e m p t y glume a l i t t l e l o n g er
t h a n t h e o u t e r , 3 - n e r y e d , s i d e n e r v e s v e r y s h o r t ; flewering glume 5 — 7 - n e r v e d , o b l o n g,
a c u t e or a c u m i n a t e or t r i f i d at the apex, m e m b r a n o u s , s c a b e r u l o u s , s i d e - n e r v es
p r o m i n e n t ; t i p s and m a r g i n s h y a l i n e , w h i t e ; palea linear- o b l o n g , keels s c a b r i d;
lodiculea o b l i q u e l y o v o i d ; anthers 5 mm. long, l i n e a r ; ovary with a s l i g h t l y o b l i q ue
h i s p i d a l o u s t o p ; s t y l e s j ' l s t b e l o w t h e apex.
m
WESTERN HIMALAYA : on s t e e p r o c k y slopes n e a r M a n d d l i , i n J a u n s i r , at e l e v a t i o ns
of b e t w e e n 7 , 0 0 0 a n d 9 , 0 0 0 f e e t ; Duthie (No. 1 4 4 8 1 ).
T h i s is a m u c h s m a l l e r p l a n t t h a n F. modesta, to -which it ie m o s t n e a r l y a l l i e d.
T h e g l a u c o u s t i n t of t h e f o l i a g e , a n d t h e p o l i s h e d a n d g l i s t e n i n g a p p e a r a n c e of the
s t e m s a n d s p i k e l e t s , at once d i s t i n g u i s h t h i s g r a s s f r o m t h e f o r m e r , w i t h w h i c h it is
s o m e t i m e s a s s o c i a t e d.
Pl-AI
glumes
i 93.—Festuca lucida Sia,
. flowering glume ; 4, paleo,
/ . Entire plant,—0/ natural site
stamen and pistil; 5, lodioules; i
1, single Bpikelet; 2, empty
ovary and etyles,—all enlarged