[Illustration: Fig. 175.--Aristida mutabilis.] =Aristida mutabilis, _Trin. & Rup._= This is a small tufted annual grass with simple or branched slender stems spreading at the base, and sometimes geniculately ascending and rooting at the lower nodes, 6 to 12 inches long. The _nodes_ have dark purple rings when dry. The _leaf-sheath_ is glabrous, with membranous margins and long hairs at the mouth. The _ligule_ is a row of short dense hairs. The _leaf-blade_ is slender, convolute, rigid, curved, and the tip ending in a sharp point, 1 to 3 inches long. The _inflorescence_ is a narrow panicle, cylindric, with short crowded branches, some of them remote lower down, peduncle is smooth, and rachis smooth or scaberulous; branches and pedicels are scaberulous. [Illustration: Fig. 176.--Aristida mutabilis. 1. A spikelet; 2, 3 and 4. the first, second and the third glume, respectively; 5. grain.] The _spikelets_ are shortly pedicellate, pale-green about 1/4 inch long exclusive of the awn. There are three glumes. The _first glume_ is membranous, oblong-lanceolate, shortly awned, 1-nerved, keeled and scaberulous on the keel and the sides. The _second glume_ is narrower and longer than the first, shortly awned 1-nerved, 2-toothed, obscurely scaberulous and encircling the third glume. The _third glume_ is narrow, convolute, scaberulous, 3-nerved awned with a shortly bearded callus, the awn is three branched articulate to the short column at the base about 3/4 inch long with the middle branch slightly longer than the other two; _palea_ is minute. _Lodicules_ are two and narrow. The grain is narrow as long as the glume and grooved. This resembles in general habit and appearance _Aristida Adscenscionis_, but it is not so widely distributed. So far this has been noticed only in Tinnevelly and Nellore districts. _Distribution._--Southern India, the Punjab and Rajputana, also in Arabia and tropical Africa. =Aristida funiculata, _Trin. & Rup._= This is a slender annual grass with geniculately ascending stems, radiating on all sides. The stems vary in length from 10 to 20 inches. The _leaf-sheath_ is glabrous and cylindrical. The _ligule_ is a short membrane ciliate at the margin, or a close set fringe of hairs. The _leaf-blade_ is flat or convolute, narrowly linear-acuminate, with long scattered hairs on the upper surface and tufts of long hairs at the mouth, and varying in length from 2 to 6 inches and in breadth from 1/20 to 1/12 inch. The _inflorescence_ is a narrow, lax panicle with short, erect, capillary branches. The spikelets vary in length from 1/2 to 7/8 inch.