Oplismenus
(from hoplismenos, awned; referring to the awns). SYNS. Hekaterosachne, Orthopogon. ORD. Gramineae. A small genus (three or four species) of stove or greenhouse Grasses, allied to Panicum, broadly dispersed over the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the globe. Spikelets one-flowered, articulated with the pedicel; glumes four; panicles unilateral. Leaves narrowly or broadly lanceolate, flat. These somewhat large-leaved grasses are of easy culture; they grow freely in a mixture of loam, leaf mould, and sand, and make nice plants for table decoration, &c. They are propagated by division; or by seeds, which are freely produced. The two species mentioned below succeed either in the stove or greenhouse. O. hirtellus (slightly-hairy).* fl., sheath pilose; spikes distant; common axis pubescent; spikelets three to ten, pubescent; lowest awn smooth, bluntish, three to five times as long as its glume; third glume shortly awned, furnished with a palea. June and July. l. lanceolate, acuminate, undulate, puberulous, 1 1/2in. to 2 1/2in. long. West Indies, 1795. SYN. Orthopogon hirtellus.
O. loliaceus (Tares). fl., sheath glabrous, ciliate or pilose; spikes usually oblong; common axis nearly glabrous; spikelets fascicled; lowest awn three or four times as long as its glume; third glume shortly awned, furnished with a palea. July and August. l. oblong-lanceolate or lanceolate, acuminate, 2in. to 4in. long. Trinidad, 1820. SYN. Orthopogon loliaceus.