4. S. virídula, Trin. Culms clustered, 1–3° high or more; panicle narrow and usually dense, 6–18´ long; glumes very thin, 3–4´´ long; fertile glume usually somewhat silky, with a short callus; awn 1´ long, slender, glabrous or a little pubescent below.—W. Minn., Dak., and southwestward.

21. ORYZÓPSIS, Michx. Mountain Rice. (Pl. 8.)

Spikelets 1-flowered, nearly terete. Lower glumes herbaceous or thin-membranaceous, several-nerved, nearly equal, commonly rather longer than the oblong flower, which is deciduous at maturity, and with a very short obtuse callus or scar-like base. Flowering glume coriaceous, at length involute so as closely to enclose the equal palet and the oblong grain; a simple untwisted and deciduous awn jointed on its apex. Stamens 3. Squamulæ 2 or 3, conspicuous. Stigmas plumose.—Perennials, with rigid leaves and a narrow raceme or panicle. Spikelets greenish, rather large. (Name composed of ὄρυζα, rice, and ὄψις, likeness, from a fancied resemblance to that grain.)

[*] Styles distinct, short; culm leafy to the summit; leaves broad and flat.

1. O. melanocárpa, Muhl. Leaves lanceolate, taper-pointed; sheaths bearded in the throat; panicle simple or sparingly branched; awn thrice the length of the blackish glume (nearly 1´ long).—Rocky woods, N. Eng. to Penn., Minn., Mo., and westward. Aug.—Culm 2–3° high.

[*][*] Styles united below, slender; culms tufted, naked; leaves concave or involute.

2. O. asperifòlia, Michx. (Pl. 8, fig. 1, 2.) Culms (9–18´ high), with sheaths bearing a mere rudimentary blade, overtopped by the long and rigid linear leaf from the base; very simple panicle or raceme few-flowered; awn 2–3 times the length of the rather hairy whitish glume.—Hillsides, etc., in rich woods; common, N. Eng. to Minn., and northward. May.—Leaves without keels, rough-edged, pale beneath, lasting through the winter. Squamulæ lanceolate, almost as long as the palet!

3. O. Canadénsis, Torr. Culms slender (6–15´ high), the lowest sheaths leaf-bearing; leaves involute-thread-shaped; panicle contracted (1–2´ long), the branches usually in pairs; glume pubescent, whitish; awn short and very deciduous, or wanting.—Rocky hills and dry plains, Maine to W. New Eng., the mountains of Penn., Wisc., Minn., and northward; rare. May.—Glumes 1–2´´ long, sometimes purplish.

22. MÍLIUM, Tourn. Millet-Grass. (Pl. 13.)

Spikelets 1-flowered, diffusely panicled, not jointed with their pedicels, consisting of 2 equal membranaceous convex and awnless persistent glumes, with a coriaceous awnless flowering glume and narrow palet. Stamens 3. Stigmas branched-plumose. Grain not grooved, enclosed in its glume and palet, all deciduous together. (The ancient Latin name of the Millet, which however belongs to a different genus, of uncertain meaning.)

1. M. effùsum, L. Smooth perennial, 3–6° high; leaves broad and flat, thin; panicle spreading (6–9´ long); flower ovoid-oblong.—Cold damp woods and mountain meadows, N. Eng. to Ill., and northward. June. (Eu.)

23. MUHLENBÉRGIA, Schreber. Drop-seed G. (Pl. 8.)

Spikelets 1-flowered, in contracted or rarely in open panicles. Empty glumes mostly acute or bristle-pointed, persistent, usually thin; the lower rather smaller or minute. Flower very short-stalked or sessile, the glume and palet usually minutely bearded at base, herbaceous, deciduous with the enclosed grain, often equal, the glume 3-nerved, mucronate or awned at the apex. Stamens 3. (Dedicated to the Rev. Dr. Henry Muhlenberg, a distinguished American botanist of the early part of this century.)

§ 1. MUHLENBERGIA proper. Panicles contracted or glomerate, on branching rigid culms from scaly creeping rootstocks; leaves short and narrow.

[*] Flowering glume barely mucronate or sharp-pointed.

1. M. sobolífera, Trin. Culms ascending (1–2° high), rarely branching; the simple contracted panicle very slender or filiform; lower glumes barely pointed, almost equal, one third shorter than the flower; flowering glume abruptly short-mucronate, equalling the palet.—Open rocky woods, Mass. to Mich., Minn., and southward. Aug.—Spikelets less than 1´´ long.

2. M. glomeràta, Trin. Culms upright (1–3° high), sparingly branched or simple; panicle (2–3´ long) oblong-linear, contracted into an interrupted glomerate spike, long-peduncled, the branches sessile; glumes awned, nearly equal, and (with the bristle-like awn) about twice the length of the unequal very acute flowering glume and palet.—Bogs and wet rocks, common, especially northward. Aug.—Var. ramòsa, Vasey. A stout strict much-branched leafy form, the lower glumes but little longer than the flower. Ill. to Dak.

3. M. Mexicàna, Trin. Culms ascending, much branched (2–3° high); panicles lateral and terminal, often included at the base, contracted, the branches densely spiked-clustered, linear (green and purplish); lower glumes awnless, sharp-pointed, unequal, the upper about the length of the very acute flowering one.—Low grounds; common. Aug. Varies with more slender panicles.

[*][*] Flowering glume bristle-awned from the tip; flowers short-pedicelled.

[+] Lower glumes long and bristle-pointed.

4. M. sylvática, Torr. & Gray. (Pl. 8, fig. 1, 2.) Culms ascending, much branched and diffusely spreading (2–4° long); contracted panicles densely many-flowered; lower glumes almost equal, bristle-pointed, nearly as long as the flowering one, which bears an awn twice or thrice the length of the spikelet.—Low or rocky woods; common. Aug., Sept.

5. M. ambígua, Torr. Culms ascending, clustered and branching, 1° high; panicles contracted, densely many-flowered; spikelet 2-flowered, the upper flower like the lower and perfect, or more frequently reduced to a mere awn at the base of the lower flower; lower glumes nearly equal, long-pointed; flowering glume villous, as long as the lower and equalling the palet, its awn nearly twice longer.—Minn. (shore of Elysian Lake, Waseca Co., Geyer).—A remarkable species, approaching Brachyelytrum in the structure of the spikelet, but with wholly the habit of Muhlenbergia.

[+][+] Lower glumes short or minute, not or scarcely pointed.

6. M. Willdenòvii, Trin. Culms upright (3° high), slender, simple or sparingly branched; contracted panicle slender, loosely flowered; lower glumes slightly unequal, short-pointed, half the length of the flowering one, which bears an awn 3–4 times the length of the spikelet.—Rocky woods; rather common. Aug.

24. BRACHYÉLYTRUM, Beauv. (Pl. 8.)

Spikelets 1-flowered, with a conspicuous filiform pedicel of an abortive second flower about half its length, nearly terete, few, in a simple appressed racemed panicle. Lower glumes unequal, persistent, usually minute, or the lower one almost obsolete. Flowering glume and palet chartaceo-herbaceous, involute, enclosing the linear-oblong grain, somewhat equal, rough with scattered short bristles, the first 5-nerved, extended into a long straight awn, the palet 2-pointed; the awn-like sterile pedicel partly lodged in the groove on its back. Stamens 2; anthers and stigmas very long.—Perennial, with simple culms (1–3° high) from creeping rootstocks, downy sheaths, broad and flat lanceolate pointed leaves, and spikelets ½´ long without the awn. (Name composed of βραχύς, short, and ἔλυτρον, husk, from the minute glumes.)

1. B. aristàtum, Beauv. Rocky woods; common. June.—Var. Engelmánni, Gray, is a western form, with the second glume awn-pointed, nearly half the length of the flowering one.

25. HELEÓCHLOA, Host. (Pl. 7.)

Spikelets 1-flowered, crowded in a dense spike or spike-like panicle. Lower glumes persistent, membranaceous, acute, ciliate-carinate, awnless; flowering glume similar, a little longer, and a little exceeding the palet. Stamens 3.—Low cespitose annuals; spike often scarcely exserted from the upper sheath. (Name from ἕλος, a meadow, and χλόα, grass.)

H. schœnoìdes, Host. Usually nearly prostrate and tufted; leaves rather rigid, tapering to a sharp point; spike oblong, thick, 7–20´´ long. (Crypsis schœnoides, Lam.)—Waste places, N. J. to Del. (Nat. from Eu.)

26. PHLÈUM, L. Cat's-tail Grass. (Pl. 7.)

Spikelets 1-flowered, in a very dense cylindrical spike-like panicle. Lower glumes persistent, membranaceous, folded-carinate, subtruncate, mucronate or short-awned; flowering glume hyaline, shorter, truncate. Stamens 3. Styles distinct.—Perennials. (From φλέως, a Greek name for a kind of reed.)

P. praténse, L. (Timothy. Herd's-Grass in New Eng. and N. Y.) Tall; spike long-cylindrical; lower glumes ciliate on the back, tipped with a short bristle.—Meadows, commonly cultivated for hay. (Nat. from Eu.)

27. ALOPECÙRUS, L. Foxtail Grass. (Pl. 7.)

Spikelets 1-flowered, jointed on the pedicel. Lower glumes boat-shaped, strongly compressed and keeled, nearly equal, united at base, equalling or exceeding the flowering glume, which is awned on the back below the middle; palet mostly wanting! Stamens 3. Styles mostly united. Stigmas long and feathered.—Clusters contracted into a cylindrical and soft dense spike; perennial. (Name from ἀλώπηξ, fox, and οὐρά, tail, from the shape of the spike.)

A. praténsis, L. (Meadow Foxtail.) Culm upright, smooth (2° high); the upper leaf much shorter than its inflated sheath; spike stout, 1½–2½´ long; flowering glume equalling the acute lower glumes; awn exserted more than half its length, twisted.—Meadows and pastures, eastward. May. (Nat. from Eu.)

A. geniculàtus, L. (Floating F.) (Pl. 7, fig. 1–4.) Culm ascending, often bent at the lower joints; upper leaf as long as its sheath; spike slender, 1–2´ long; flowering glume rather shorter than the obtuse lower glumes, the awn from near its base and projecting front half to twice its length beyond it.—Moist meadows, eastward. June–Aug. (Nat. from Eu.)

Var. aristulàtus, Torr. The awn very slender and scarcely exserted. (A. aristulatus, Michx.)—In water and wet places; common. June–Aug.

28. SPORÓBOLUS, R. Br. Drop-seed Grass. Rush-Grass. (Pl. 7.)

Spikelets small, 1- (rarely 2-) flowered, in an open or contracted or spiked panicle. Lower glumes persistent, 1–3-nerved, not awned or pointed, the lower smaller; flowering glume of the same texture as the lower ones (membranaceo-chartaceous) and usually longer than they, naked, awnless and mostly pointless, 1-nerved (rarely somewhat 3-nerved); palet similar, 2-nerved. Stamens chiefly 3. Stigmas simply feathery. Grain globular to oblong or cylindrical, deciduous, often very thin, containing the loose seed.—Culms wiry or rigid. Leaves involute, the throat usually bearded, and sheaths often enclosing the panicles. (Name from σπορά, seed, and βάλλω, to cast forth.)

[*] Panicle contracted, often simple; grain oval or oblong; perennial, except n. 2.

1. S. ásper, Kunth. Culms tufted (2–4° high); lowest leaves very long, rigid, rough on the edges, tapering to a long involute and thread-like point, the upper short, involute; sheaths partly or at first wholly enclosing the contracted panicle; flower much longer than the unequal lower glumes; grain oval or oblong. (Vilfa aspera, Beauv.)—Sandy fields and dry hills, especially southward. Sept.—Spikelets 2–3´´ long. Flowering glume and palet rough above, smooth or hairy below, the palet tapering upward, acute, and one half to twice longer than the glume, or else obtuse and equalled or even considerably exceeded by the glume!

2. S. vaginæflòrus, Vasey. (Pl. 7, fig. 4, 5.) Culms slender (6–12´ high), ascending; leaves involute-awl-shaped (1–4´ long); panicles simple and spiked, the lateral and often the terminal concealed in the sheaths; flowering glume and palet somewhat equal, acute, about the length of the nearly equal lower glumes, only {1/3} longer than the oval grain. (Vilfa vaginæflora, Torr.)—Barren and sandy dry fields; common, especially southward. Sept.

10. S. airoìdes, Torr. Culm tufted, often stout, erect, ½–3° high; leaves strongly revolute and attenuate, rather rigid; panicle open and diffuse, broadly pyramidal, glabrous; spikelets solitary on slender pedicels, 1´´ long; lower glumes unequal, rather obtuse.—Neb. to Tex., and westward.

29. AGRÓSTIS, L. Bent-Grass. (Pl. 7.)

Spikelets 1-flowered, in an open panicle. Empty glumes somewhat equal, or the lower rather longer, usually longer than the flowering one, pointless. Flowering glume and palet very thin, pointless, naked; the first 3–5-nerved, frequently awned on the back; the palet often minute or none. Stamens chiefly 3. Grain (caryopsis) free.—Culms usually tufted, slender; root commonly perennial. (Name from ἀγρός, a field, the place of growth.)

§ 1. AGROSTIS proper. Palet manifest, but shorter than the glume.

A. álba, L. (Fiorin or White Bent-Grass.) Rootstocks creeping or stoloniferous; culms 1–2° high, often decumbent at base; leaves short, flat, the ligule long and acute; panicle contracted after flowering, greenish, purplish or brownish, the branches slightly rough; flowering glume nearly equalling the empty ones, 3-nerved, rarely short-awned, the palet about half as long.—Meadows and fields, a valuable grass; naturalized from Eu. and cultivated, and perhaps native north and westward.

Var. vulgàris, Thurb. (Red Top. Herd's-Grass of Penn., etc.) (Pl. 7, fig. 1, 2.) Panicle more or less spreading after flowering; ligule short and truncate. (A. vulgaris, With.)—Low meadows and pastures; nat. from Eu. and cultivated, also perhaps indigenous.

1. A. arachnoìdes, Ell. Culms (1° high) and leaves very slender; panicle open, weak and drooping; glumes nearly equal, roughish on the keel and margins, the flowering glume shorter, with 2 minute bristles at the truncate apex and a long exceedingly delicate awn on the back above the middle; palet minute.—Mo. to Ky., Tenn., and S. Car.

2. A. exaràta, Trin. Culms erect, 1–2° high; leaves mostly erect; panicle narrow, crowded, greenish, the rays mostly flower-bearing to the base; spikelets 1½–2´´ long; glumes nearly equal, acute, the flowering ones shorter, sometimes awned above the middle.—Wisc. (Vasey) to Sask., and far westward.

30. POLYPÒGON, Desf. Beard-Grass. (Pl. 8.)

Spikelets 1-flowered, in a contracted, mostly spike-like panicle. Empty glumes nearly equal, long-awned, much longer than the membranaceous flowering one which is commonly short-awned below the apex. Stamens 3. Grain free. (Name composed of πολύ, much, and πωγών, beard.)

P. Monspeliénsis, Desf. Panicle interrupted; lower glumes oblong, the awn from a notch at the summit, the flowering one also awned; root annual.—Isles of Shoals (Robbins), ballast heaps, and southward. (Nat. from Eu.)

31. CÍNNA, L. Wood Reed-Grass. (Pl. 8.)

Spikelets 1-flowered, much flattened, crowded in an open flaccid panicle. Empty glumes persistent, lanceolate, acute, strongly keeled, rough-serrulate on the keel; the lower rather smaller, the upper a little exceeding the flower, which is manifestly stalked, smooth and naked; flowering glume much like the lower, longer than the palet, usually short awned or mucronate on the back below the pointless apex. Stamen one, opposite the 1-nerved palet! Grain linear-oblong, free.—A perennial, rather sweet-scented grass, with simple and upright somewhat reed-like culms (2–7° high), bearing an ample compound terminal panicle, its branches in fours or fives; the broadly linear-lanceolate flat leaves (4–6´´ wide) with conspicuous ligules. Spikelets green, often purplish-tinged. (From κίννα, a name in Dioscorides for a kind of grass.)

1. C. arundinàcea, L. (Pl. 8, fig. 1, 2.) Panicle 6–15´ long, rather dense, the branches and pedicels spreading in flower, afterward erect; spikelets 2½–3´´ long.; awn of the glume either obsolete or manifest.—Moist woods and shaded swamps; rather common. July, Aug.

2. C. péndula, Trin. Panicle loose and more slender, the branches nearly capillary and drooping in flower; pedicels very rough; glumes thinner, the lower less unequal; spikelets 1½–2´´ long; palet obtuse. (C. arundinacea, var. pendula, Gray.)—Deep damp woods, N. New Eng. to Lake Superior and northward, and on mountains southward. (Eu.)

32. APÈRA, Adans.

With the characters of Agrostis; distinguished by the presence of a second rudimentary flower in the form of a short bristle, and by the 2-toothed palet little shorter than the flowering bifid glume, which is dorsally awned.—A rather late annual, with narrow flat leaves, and a contracted or spreading panicle with numerous filiform branches and very numerous small shining spikelets. (Name from ἄπηρος, unmaimed; application obscure.)

A. spìca-vénti, Beauv. Spikelets ½–1´´ long.—Sparingly naturalized. (Nat. from Eu.)

33. CALAMAGRÓSTIS, Adans. Reed Bent-G. (Pl. 8.)

Spikelets 1-flowered, and (in our species) often with a pedicel or rudiment of a second abortive flower (rarely 2-flowered), in an open or spiked panicle. Lower glumes mostly membranaceous, keeled or boat-shaped, often acute, commonly nearly equal, and exceeding the flower, which bears at the base copious white bristly hairs; flowering glume thin, bearing a slender awn on the back or below the tip, or sometimes awnless; the palet mostly shorter. Stamens 3. Grain free.—Perennials, with running rootstocks, and mostly tall and simple rigid culms. (Name compounded of κάλαμος, a reed, and ἀγρόστις, a grass.)

§ 1. DEYEÙXIA. Rudiment of a second flower present in the form of a plumose or hairy small pedicel behind the palet (very rarely more developed and having a glume or even stamens); glumes membranaceous, or the flowering one thin and delicate, the latter 3–5-nerved and awn-bearing.

[*] Panicle loose and open, even after flowering; the mostly purple-tinged or lead-colored strigose-scabrous glumes not closing in fruit; copious hairs of the rhachis about equalling the flowering glume, not surpassed by those of the rudiment; awn delicate, straight.

7. C. Pórteri, Gray. Culm slender (2–4° high); a woolly-bearded ring at the junction of the broadly linear leaves with the sheath; panicle long and narrow, with the branches appressed; glumes lanceolate, acute, pale, 2–2½´´ long; hairs of the flower and of the short rudiment scanty, and both reaching about to the middle of the flower behind the palet, but very short or none at the base of the firm-membranaceous flowering glume, which bears near its base a twisted awn of its own length. (Deyeuxia Porteri, Vasey.)—Dry woods, Pulpit Rocks and vicinity, Huntingdon Co., Penn., Prof. T. C. Porter.

34. AMMÓPHILA, Host. (Pl. 16.)

Spikelets large, in a contracted spike-like panicle, 1-flowered, with a pedicel-like rudiment of a second flower (plumose above), the flower hairy-tufted at base. Empty glumes scarious-chartaceous, lanceolate, compressed-keeled, nearly equal; flowering glume and palet similar, a little shorter, the glume 5-nerved, slightly mucronate or obscurely awned near the tip, the palet 2-keeled.—A coarse perennial maritime species, with running rootstocks. (Name from ἄμμος, sand, and φιλέω, to love.)

1. A. arundinàcea, Host. (Sea Sand-Reed.) Culm stout and rigid (2–3° high) from firm running rootstocks; leaves long, soon involute; panicle contracted into a dense cylindrical spike (5–9´ long); spikelets 5–6´´ long; hairs only one third of the length of the flower. (Calamagrostis arenaria, Roth.)—Sandy beaches, N. J. to Maine and northward, and on the Great Lakes. Aug. (Eu.)

35. ARRHENATHÈRUM, Beauv. Oat-Grass. (Pl. 12.)

Spikelets open-panicled, 2-flowered, with the rudiment of a third flower; the middle flower perfect, its glume barely bristle-pointed from near the tip; the lowest flower staminate only, bearing a long bent awn below the middle of the back (whence the name, from ἄῤῥην, masculine, and ἀθήρ, awn);—otherwise as in Avena, of which it is only a peculiar modification.

A. avenàceum, Beauv. Root perennial; culm 2–4° high; leaves broad, flat; panicle elongated; glumes scarious, very unequal.—Meadows and lots; absurdly called Grass of the Andes. May–July. (Nat from Eu.)

36. HÓLCUS, L. (partly). Meadow Soft-Grass. (Pl. 12.)

Spikelets crowded in an open panicle, 2-flowered; the boat-shaped membranaceous glumes enclosing and much exceeding the remotish flowers. Lower flower perfect, its papery or thin-coriaceous glume awnless and pointless; the upper flower staminate, otherwise similar, but bearing a stout bent awn below the apex. Stamens 3. Styles plumose to the base. Grain free. (A name in Pliny for a kind of grass, from ὁλκός, attractive, of obscure application.)

H. lanàtus, L. (Velvet-Grass.) Perennial, soft-downy and pale; panicle oblong; upper empty glume mucronate-awned under the apex; awn of the staminate flower curved.—Moist meadows. June. (Nat. from Eu.)

37. AÌRA, L. Hair-Grass.

Spikelets very small, in an open diffuse panicle, of 2 perfect contiguous flowers. Glumes thin-membranaceous, the two lower persistent, nearly equal, acute, keeled; the flowering ones obscurely nerved, acutely 2-cleft at the apex, bearing a slender twisted awn below the middle. Stamens 3. Styles plumose to the base. Grain oblong, adnate.—Low annuals, with short setaceous leaves. (An ancient Greek name for Darnel.)

A. caryophýllea, L. Culms 5–10´ high, bearing a very diffuse panicle of purplish and at length silvery scarious spikelets.—Dry fields, Nantucket; also Newcastle, Del., W. M. Canby. (Nat. from Eu.)

A. præ̀cox, L. Culms tufted, 3–4´ high; branches of the small and dense panicle appressed; awn from below the middle of the glume.—Sandy fields, N. J. to Va.; rare. (Nat. from Eu.)

38. DESCHÁMPSIA, Beauv. (Pl. 12.)

Spikelets small, panicled, of 2 perfect flowers and the hairy pedicel or rudiment of a third (rarely staminate); rhachis hairy. Empty glumes persistent, membranaceous and shining, carinate, acute, nearly equal; flowering glumes toothed or erose-denticulate at the truncate summit, usually delicately 3–5-nerved, with a slender twisted awn near or below the middle. Grain oblong, free.—Root perennial. (Named for Loiseleur-Deslongchamps, a French botanist.)

[*] Empty glumes somewhat shorter than the flowers.

1. D. flexuòsa, Trin. (Common Hair-Grass.) (Pl. 12, fig. 1–3.) Culms slender, nearly naked (1–3° high) above the small tufts of involute bristle-form root-leaves (1–6´ long); branches of the small spreading panicle capillary; awn longer than the palet, at length bent and twisted. (Aira flexuosa, L.)—Dry places; common. June. (Eu.)

2. D. cæspitòsa, Beauv. Culm tufted (2–4° high); leaves flat, linear; panicle pyramidal or oblong (6´ long); awn straight, barely equalling the glume. (Aira cæspitosa, L.)—Shores of lakes and streams; N. Eng. to Penn., Mich., and northward. June, July. (Eu.)

[*][*] Empty glumes longer than the flowers, 2–2½´´ long.

3. D. atropurpùrea, Scheele. Culms 8–15´ high, weak; leaves flat, rather wide; panicle of few spreading branches; awn stout, twice longer than the nerveless truncate ciliolate-denticulate glume. (Aira atropurpurea, Wahl.)—Alpine summits of N. H. and N. Y., to Lab. and northward. Aug. (Eu.)

39. TRISÈTUM, Persoon. (Pl. 12.)

Spikelets 2–several-flowered, often in a contracted panicle; the flowering glume compressed-keeled, of about the same thin-membranaceous texture as the empty glumes, bearing a bent or flexuous (rarely twisted) awn at or below the sharply 2-toothed or 2-pointed apex (whence the name, from tris, three, and seta, a bristle); otherwise nearly as in Avena. Ours are perennials.

1. T. subspicàtum, Beauv., var. mólle, Gray. (Pl. 12, fig. 1, 2.) Minutely soft-downy; panicle dense, much contracted, oblong or linear (2–3´ long); glumes about the length of the 2–3 smooth flowers; awn dorsal, diverging, much exserted.—Mountains and rocky river-banks, N. New Eng. to L. Superior, and northward. July.—About 1° high; leaves flat, short. (Eu.) (Addendum)—Trisetum subspicatum, var. molle, is reported from Roan Mt., N. C. (Scribner), and probably occurs on the higher Alleghanies northward.

2. T. palústre, Torr. Smooth; panicle rather long and narrow (5´ long), loose, the branches capillary; spikelets flat (3´´ long); lower glumes shorter than the two smooth lanceolate flowers; the upper flower on a slightly hairy joint of the rhachis, with a slender spreading or bent awn next the short 2-pointed tip, the lower commonly awnless or only mucronate-pointed.—Low grounds, southern N. Y. to Ill., and southward. June.—Culm slender, 2–3° high; leases flat, short; spikelets yellowish-white, tinged with green.

40. AVÈNA, Tourn. Oat. (Pl. 12.)

Spikelets 2–many-flowered, panicled; the flowers herbaceo-chartaceous, or becoming harder, of firmer texture than the large and mostly unequal empty glumes; the uppermost flower imperfect; rhachis and base of the flower often bearded. Flowering glume rounded on the back, mostly 5–11-nerved, bearing a long usually bent or twisted awn on the back or between the two acute teeth at the apex, proceeding from the mid-nerve only. Stamens 3. Grain oblong-linear, grooved on one side, usually hairy at least at the top, free, but invested by the palet. (The classical Latin name.)

[*] Spikelets large (1´ long); annual.

A. Fátua, L. Resembling the common oat (A. sativa), the few spikelets in a loose panicle, mostly pendulous; flowering glumes covered with long brownish hairs and bearing a bent awn 1–2´ long.—Wisc., Minn. (Nat. from Eu.)

[*][*] Smaller-flowered perennials.

1. A. striàta, Michx. (Pl. 12, fig. 1, 2.) Glabrous and smooth throughout, slender (1–2° high); leaves narrow; ligule short, truncate; panicle simple, loose; spikelets (6´´ long) on capillary pedicels, 3–6-flowered, much exceeding the scarious-margined purple acute empty glumes; lower glume 1-, upper 3-nerved; rhachis smooth; flowers short-bearded at base; flowering glume 7-nerved, much longer than the ciliate-fringed palet (4´´ long), mostly shorter than its soon bent or divergent awn, which rises just below the tapering very sharply cuspidate 2-cleft tip.—Rocky, shaded hills, N. New Eng., N. Y., and northwestward. June.

2. A. Smíthii, Porter. Taller (2½–4½° high), rather stout; leaves broadly linear (3–6´´ wide) and taper-pointed, flat, and with the sheaths and culm retrorsely scabrous; ligule elongated, acute; panicle larger (6–12´ long), the few branches at length spreading; empty glumes slightly purplish, the lower 3-nerved, the upper 5-nerved, scabrous on the nerves; rhachis minutely hispid; flowers (3–5) naked at base; awn straight, {1/3}–½ the length of the 7-nerved glume.—N. Mich. and Isle Royale, L. Superior. April, May.

41. DANTHÒNIA, DC. Wild Oat-Grass. (Pl. 12.)

Flowering glume (oblong or ovate, rounded-cylindraceous, 7–9-nerved) bearing between the sharp-pointed or awn-like teeth of the tip an awn usually composed of the 3 middle nerves, which is flattish and spirally twisting at base; otherwise nearly as in Avena. Empty glumes longer than the imbricated flowers. Ours perennials, 1–2° high, with narrow and soon involute leaves, hairy sheaths bearded at the throat, and a small simple panicle or raceme of about 7-flowered spikelets. (Named for Danthoine, a French botanist.)

1. D. spicàta, Beauv. (Pl. 12, fig. 1–3.) Culms tufted, low; leaves short, very narrow; spikelets few, 3–5´´ long, subspicate; flowering glume loosely hairy, its teeth short and pointless.—Dry and sterile or rocky soil.

2. D. serícea, Nutt. Culms taller and not tufted (1–3° high), terete; leaves larger, at least the sheaths silky-villous; spikelets more numerous and panicled, 6–9´´ long; flowering glume very silky-villous, tipped with slender awn-pointed teeth.—Dry or moist sandy soil, southern Mass., N. J., and southward; rare. June.

3. D. compréssa, Aust. Culms slender, 2° high, somewhat compressed, paler and subcaniculate on the narrower side; leaves elongated, very narrow, villous only at the summit of the sheath; spikelets 6–12, loosely panicled, 5´´ long; flowering glume loosely hairy or pubescent, the teeth very long-awned.—Dry banks; Vt. (Pringle); E. Mass., N. Y., Penn., and mountains of N. C.

42. CÝNODON, Richard. Bermuda or Scutch-Grass. (Pl. 9.)

Spikelets 1-flowered, with a mere naked short-pedicelled rudiment of a second flower, imbricate-spiked on one side of a flattish rhachis; the spikes usually digitate at the naked summit of the flowering culms. Empty glumes keeled, pointless, rather unequal; flowering glume and palet pointless and awnless, the glume larger, boat-shaped. Stamens 3.—Low diffusely branched and extensively creeping perennials, with short flattish leaves. (Name composed of κύων, a dog, and ὀδούς, a tooth.)

C. Dáctylon, Pers. Spikes 3–5; flowering glume smooth, longer than the blunt rudiment.—Penn., and southward, where it is cultivated for pasturage. (Nat. from Eu.)

43. CTÉNIUM, Panzer. Toothache-Grass. (Pl. 9.)

Spikelets densely imbricated in two rows on one side of the flat curved rhachis of the solitary terminal spike. Glumes persistent; the lower (interior) much smaller; the other concave below, bearing a stout recurved awn, like a horn, on the middle of the back. Flowers 4–6, all but one neutral; the one or two lower consisting of empty awned glumes, and the one or two uppermost of empty awnless glumes; the perfect flower intermediate, its glume membranaceous, awned or mucronate below the apex and densely ciliate toward the base, 3-nerved. Stamens 3. Stigmas plumose. (Name κτενίον, a small comb, from the pectinate appearance of the spike.)

1. C. Americànum, Spreng. Culm (3–4° high from a perennial root) simple, pubescent or roughish; larger glume warty-glandular outside, conspicuously awned.—Wet pine-barrens, S. Va. and southward.—Taste very pungent.

44. GYMNOPÒGON, Beauv. (Pl. 9.)

Spikelets of one perfect flower, and the rudiment of a second (consisting of an awn-like pedicel mostly bearing a naked bristle), sessile and remotely alternate on long filiform rays or spikes, which form a crowded naked raceme. Glumes lance-awl-shaped, keeled, almost equal, rather longer than the membranaceous flowering glume, which is cylindrical-involute, with the midrib produced from just below the 2-cleft apex into a straight and slender bristle-like awn; palet nearly as long, with the abortive rudiment at its base. Stamens 3. Stigmas pencil-form, purple.—Root perennial. Leaves short and flat, thickish, 1–3´ long. (Name composed of γυμνός, naked, and πώγων, a beard, alluding to the reduction of the abortive flower to a bare awn.)

1. G. racemòsus, Beauv. (Pl. 9, fig. 1, 2.) Culms clustered from a short rootstock (1° high), wiry, leafy; leaves oblong-lanceolate; spikes flower-bearing to the base (5–8´ long), soon divergent; awn of the abortive flower shorter than its stalk, equalling the pointed glumes, not more than half the length of the awn of the fertile flower.—Sandy pine-barrens, N. J. to Va., and southward. Aug., Sept.

2. G. brevifòlius, Trin. Filiform spikes long-peduncled, i.e. flower-bearing only above the middle; flowering glume ciliate near the base, short-awned; awn of the abortive flower obsolete or minute; glumes acute.—Sussex Co., Del., and southward.

45. SCHEDONNÁRDUS, Steud. (Pl. 11.)

Spikelets small, acuminate, 1-flowered, appressed-sessile and scattered along one side of the slender rhachis of the distant sessile and divaricately spreading spikes. Empty glumes persistent, narrow, acuminate, more or less unequal, the longer usually a little shorter than the rather rigid acuminate flowering one. Stamens 3. Styles distinct. Grain linear.—A low slender annual, branching from the base, with short narrow leaves. (Name from σχεδόν, near, and Nardus, from its resemblance to that genus.)

1. S. Texànus, Steud. Stem (6–20´ long) naked and curved above, bearing 3–9 racemosely disposed thread-like and triangular spikes 1–3´ long; spikelets 1½´´ long. (Lepturus paniculatus, Nutt.)—Open grounds and salt-licks, Ill. to Mont., Col., and Tex. Aug.

46. BOUTELOÙA, Lagasca. Muskít-Grass. (Pl. 9.)

Spikelets crowded and closely sessile in 2 rows on one side of a flattened rhachis, comprising one perfect flower below and one or more sterile (mostly neutral) or rudimentary flowers. Glumes convex-keeled, the lower one shorter. Perfect flower with the 3-nerved glume 3-toothed or cleft at the apex, the 2-nerved palet 2-toothed; the teeth, at least of the former, pointed or subulate-awned. Stamens 3; anthers orange-colored or red.—Rudimentary flowers mostly 1–3-awned. Spikes solitary, racemed or spiked; the rhachis somewhat extended beyond the spikelets. (Named for Claudius Boutelou, a Spanish writer upon floriculture and agriculture.)

§ 1. CHONDRÒSIUM. Spikes pectinate, of very many spikelets, oblong or linear, very dense, solitary and terminal or few in a raceme; sterile flowers 1–3 on a short pedicel, neutral, consisting of 1–3 scales and awns.

1. B. oligostàchya, Torr. Glabrous, perennial (6–12´ high); leaves very narrow; spikes 1–5, the rhachis glabrous; glumes all sparingly soft-hairy, the lobes awl-pointed; sterile flower copiously villous-tufted at the summit of the naked pedicel, its 3 awns equalling the larger glume.—N. W. Wisc. to Dak., and south to Tex. and Mex.—Glumes obscurely if at all papillose along the keel, the middle lobe of the flowering one 2-cleft at the tip. Sterile flowers often 2, the second mostly a large awnless scale, becoming hood-like and coriaceous.

47. ELEUSÌNE, Gaertn. Crab-Grass. Yard-Grass. (Pl. 9.)

Spikelets 2–6-flowered, with a terminal imperfect flower or naked rudiment, closely imbricate-spiked on one side of a flattish rhachis; the spikes digitate. Glumes membranaceous, shorter than the flowers; flowering glume and palet awnless, the glume ovate, keeled, larger than the palet. Stamens 3. Pericarp (utricle) containing a loose wrinkled seed.—Low annuals, with flat leaves, and flowers much as in Poa. (Name from Ἐλευσίν, the town where Ceres, the goddess of harvests, was worshipped.)

E. Índica, Gaertn. (Dog's-tail or Wire Grass.) (Pl. 9, fig. 1–6.) Culms ascending, flattened; spikes 2–5 (about 2´ long, greenish); glumes pointless; terminal flower a mere rudiment.—Yards, etc., chiefly southward. (Nat. from Ind.?)

E. Ægyptìaca, Pers. (Pl. 9, fig. 1–4, as Dactyloctenium.) Culms often creeping at base; leaves ciliate at base; spikes 4–5; lower glume awned and the flowering one pointed. (Dactyloctenium Ægyptiacum, Willd.)—Cultivated fields and yards, Va., Ill., and southward. (Adv. from Afr.?)

48. LEPTÓCHLOA, Beauv. (Pl. 16.)

Spikelets 3–many-flowered (the uppermost flower imperfect), loosely spiked on one side of a long filiform rhachis; the spikes racemed. Glumes menbranaceous, keeled, rarely awned, nearly equal; flowering glume 3-nerved, sometimes simply awned, larger than the palet. Stamens 2 or 3. Seed closely enclosed.—Ours annuals. Leaves flat. (Name composed of λεπτός, slender, and χλόα, grass, from the long attenuated spikes.)

49. BÙCHLOË, Engelm. Buffalo Grass. (Pl. 16.)

Spikelets diœcious (rarely monœcious), very unlike; the staminate 2–3-flowered, sessile in 2 rows in short 1-sided spikes, the empty glumes blunt, 1-nerved, very unequal, the flowering larger, 3-nerved, a little exceeding the 2-nerved palet; fertile spikelets 1-flowered, in a contracted, capitate, 1-sided spike, the large outer glumes indurated, 3-fid at the apex, united at base and resembling an involucre, the inner (lower) much smaller and membranaceous, or in the lowest spikelet resembling the outer; flowering glume narrow, hyaline, bifid or nearly entire, enclosing the 2-nerved palet. Styles distinct. Grain ovate, free.—A perennial, creeping or stoloniferous, with narrow flat leaves; staminate spikes (2–3) in a pedunculate spike, the pistillate pair sessile in the broad sheaths of the upper leaves. (Name a contraction of Bubalochloë, from βούβαλος, buffalo, and χλόη, grass.)

1. B. dactyloìdes, Engelm. Low (3–8´ high) and broadly tufted; sterile spikes 3–6´´ long, the fertile heads 3´´ long.—Plains of the Sask. to Minn., Kan., and Tex. One of the most valuable grasses of the plains.

50. TRIÒDIA, R. Br. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets 3–12-flowered, somewhat terete, the rhachis with bearded joints; terminal flower abortive. Empty glumes unequal; flowering glumes membranaceous or somewhat chartaceous, much larger than the 2-toothed palet, convex, 2–3-toothed or cleft at the apex, conspicuously hairy-bearded or villous on the 3 strong nerves, of which the lateral are marginal or nearly so and usually excurrent, as is the mid-nerve especially, into a short cusp or awn. Stamens 3. Stigmas dark purple, plumose. Grain oblong, nearly gibbous.—Leaves taper-pointed; sheaths bearded at the throat. Panicle simple or compound; the spikelets often racemose, purplish. (Name from τρι-, three, and ὀδούς, a tooth, alluding to the flowering glume.)

§ 1. TRIODIA proper. Glumes shorter than the crowded flowers, the flowering one 3-cuspidate by the projection of the nerves, and usually with intermediate membranaceous teeth; palet naked.

1. T. cùprea, Jacq. (Tall Red-top.) Perennial; culm upright (3–5° high), very smooth, as are the flat leaves; panicle large and compound, the rigid capillary branches spreading, naked below; spikelets very numerous, 5–7-flowered, shining, purple (4´´ long); the flowering glumes hairy toward the base, their points almost equal, scarcely exceeding the intermediate teeth, thus appearing 5-toothed. (Tricuspis seslerioides, Torr.)—Dry or sandy fields, southern N. Y. to Mo., and southward. Aug.—A showy grass, with the spreading panicle sometimes 1° wide.

§ 2. TRIPLÀSIS. Glumes much shorter than the somewhat remote flowers; flowering glume and palet strongly fringe-bearded, the glume 2-cleft at the summit, its mid-nerve produced into an awn between the truncate or awn-pointed divisions.

51. DIPLÁCHNE, Beauv. (Pl. 9.)

Spikelets several-flowered, narrow, erect and scattered along the slender rhachis of the long spicate spikes; flowers all perfect or the uppermost staminate. Empty glumes membranaceous, carinate, acute, unequal; flowering glume slightly longer, 1–3-nerved, 2-toothed, and mucronate or shortly awned between the teeth. Stamens 3. Styles distinct. Grain free.—Coarse grasses, with narrow flat leaves, and several or many slender spikes sessile upon an elongated peduncle. (Name from διπλόος, double, and ἄχνη, in the sense of chaff, with reference to the 2-lobed glume.)

1. D. fasciculàris, Beauv. Smooth; leaves longer than the geniculate-decumbent and branching culms, the upper sheathing the base of the panicle-like spike, which is composed of many strict spikes (3–5´ long); spikelets slightly pedicelled, 7–11-flowered, much longer than the lanceolate glumes; flowers hairy-margined toward the base, the glume with 2 small lateral teeth and a short awn in the cleft of the apex. (Leptochloa fascicularis, Gray.)— Brackish meadows, from R. I. southward along the coast, and from Ill. southward on the Mississippi. Aug.–Sept.

52. PHRAGMÌTES, Trin. Reed. (Pl. 11.)

Spikelets 3–7-flowered; the flowers rather distant, silky-villous at base, and with a conspicuous silky-bearded rhachis, all perfect and 3-androus, except the lowest, which is either neutral or with 1–3 stamens, and naked. Glumes membranaceous, shorter than the flowers, lanceolate, keeled, sharp-pointed, very unequal; flowering glume and palet membranaceous, slender, the glume narrowly awl-shaped, thrice the length of the palet. Squamulæ 2, large. Styles long. Grain free.—Tall and stout perennials, with long running root-stocks, numerous broad leaves, and a large terminal panicle. (Φραγμίτες, growing in hedges, which this aquatic grass does not.)

1. P. commùnis, Trin. Panicle loose, nodding; spikelets 3–5-flowered; flowers equalling the beard.—Edges of ponds. Sept.—Looks like Broom-Corn at a distance, 5–12° high; leaves 2´ wide. (Eu.)

53. ARÚNDO, L.

Flowers all perfect; flowering glume bifid, short-awned between the teeth. Otherwise as Phragmites. (The Latin name of the species.)

A. Dònax, L. Very tall (10–18°); spikelets 3–4-flowered.—Closely resembling Phragmites communis. Cultivated for ornament, and naturalized in Bedford Co., Va. (A. H. Curtiss.) (Nat. from Eu.)

54. MÚNROA, Torr. (Pl. 16.)

Spikelets usually 3-flowered, few (2–4) and nearly sessile in the axils of floral leaves; flowers perfect, or the uppermost abortive. Empty glumes lanceolate, acute, hyaline and 1-nerved; flowering glumes larger, 3-nerved, rather rigid, the mid-nerve stout, excurrent, the lateral ones scarcely so.—Low or prostrate many-stemmed annuals, fasciculately branched, with crowded short flat rigid or pungent leaves, the short sheaths strongly striate. (Named for the English agrostologist, Maj.-Gen. William Munro.)

1. M. squarròsa, Torr. Glaucous, somewhat pubescent and villous at the nodes or glabrous; leaves 3–12´´ long.—Dry plains, central Kan. to Dak., west to Mont., Utah, and New Mex.

55. KŒLÈRIA, Pers. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets 3–7-flowered, crowded in a dense and narrow spike-like panicle. Glumes membranaceous, compressed-keeled, obscurely 3-nerved, barely acute, or the flowering glume often mucronate or bristle-pointed; the empty ones moderately unequal, nearly as long as the spikelet. Stamens 3. Grain free.—Tufted with simple upright culms, the sheaths often downy; allied to Dactylis and Poa. (Named for Prof. G. L. Koeler, an early writer on Grasses.)

1. K. cristàta, Pers. Culms 1–2° high; leaves flat, the lower sparingly hairy or ciliate; panicle narrowly spiked, interrupted or lobed at base; spikelets 2–4-flowered; flowering glume acute or mucronate.—Var. grácilis, Gray, with a long and narrow spike, the flowers usually barely acute.—Dry hills, Penn. to Ill. and Kan., thence north and westward. (Eu.)

56. EATÒNIA, Raf. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets usually 2-flowered, with an abortive rudiment or pedicel, numerous, in a contracted or slender panicle, very smooth. Empty glumes somewhat equal in length, but very dissimilar, a little shorter than the flowers; the lower narrowly linear, keeled, 1-nerved; the upper broadly obovate, folded round the flowers, 3-nerved on the back, not keeled, scarious-margined. Flowering glume oblong, obtuse, compressed-boat-shaped, naked, chartaceous; the palet very thin and hyaline. Stamens 3. Grain linear-oblong, not grooved.—Perennial, tall and slender grasses, with simple tufted culms, and often sparsely downy sheaths, flat lower leaves, and small greenish (rarely purplish) spikelets. (Named for Prof. Amos Eaton, author of a popular Manual of the Botany of the United States, which was for a long time the only general work available for students in this country, and of other popular treatises.)

[*] Upper empty glume rounded-obovate and very obtuse; panicle usually dense.

1. E. obtusàta, Gray. (Pl. 10.) Panicle dense and contracted, somewhat interrupted, rarely slender; the spikelets crowded on the short erect branches; upper glume rough on the back; flowers lance-oblong.—Dry soil, N. Penn. to Fla., Mich., and far westward. June, July.

[*][*] Glume narrower, sometimes acutish; panicle more loose and slender.

57. ERAGRÓSTIS, Beauv. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets 2–70-flowered, nearly as in Poa, except that the flowering glume is but 3- (rarely 1-) nerved, not webby-haired at the base, and is deciduous; palet persistent on the rhachis after the rest of the flower has fallen.—Culms often branching. Leaves linear, frequently involute, and the ligule or throat of the sheath bearded with long villous hairs. Panicle various. (Name from ἦρ, spring, and ἄγροστις, a grass.)

[*] Prostrate and creeping, much branched; root annual; spikelets flat, imperfectly diœcious, clustered, almost sessile, in the more fertile plant almost capitate.