1. E. réptans, Nees. Spikelets linear-lanceolate, 10–30-flowered; flowers lance-ovate, acute; leaves short, almost awl-shaped.—Gravelly river-borders; common. Aug.—Flowering branches 2–5´ high.

[*][*] Diffusely spreading, or the flowering culms ascending, low (6–15´ high), annual; spikelets often large, flat, forming a narrow crowded panicle.

E. mìnor, Host. Sheaths often hairy; leaves flat, smooth; spikelets short-pedicelled, lance- or oblong-linear, 8–20-flowered, lead-colored (2–5´´ long); flowers ovate, obtuse, the lateral nerves becoming evident, and keel smooth. (E. poæoides, Beauv.)—Sandy waste places, eastward; rare. (Nat. from Eu.)

E. màjor, Host. Sheaths mostly glabrous; spikelets larger (3–10´´ long), becoming linear, whitish when old, 10–50-flowered; flowers more spreading, their glumes larger, with very strong lateral nerves and rough on the keel. (E. poæoides, var. megastachya, Gray.)—Similar situations, and more common. Aug.—Emits a sharp, unpleasant odor. (Nat. from Eu.)

[*][*][*] Erect, or in group [+] diffusely spreading and ascending; panicle open, its branches capillary; spikelets proportionally small, sometimes minute. (Number of flowers in the spikelet very variable, according to age, etc.)

[+] Annual; culms slender, branching and decumbent or spreading at base; leaves narrow, flat, soft; branches of the narrow panicle rather short and thickly-flowered, not bearded in the axils, or sometimes the lowest sparingly.

E. pilòsa, Beauv. (Pl. 10, fig. 1–4.) Panicle elongated-oblong, with rather erect branches (except at flowering-time); spikelets 5–12-flowered (2–4´´ long, purplish-lead-color), becoming linear, about equalling their pedicels; empty glumes (small) and flowering ones obtuse, the latter broadly ovate, 1-nerved (lateral nerves obsolete).—Sandy or gravelly waste places, S. New Eng. to Ill., and southward. Aug.—Plant 6–12´ high. (Nat. from Eu.)

2. E. Fránkii, Meyer. Much branched and diffuse (3–8´ high); panicle ovate-oblong, rather dense, spreading; spikelets 2–5-flowered (1–1½´´ long), on slender pedicels; glumes very acute; the flowering one ovate, acute, rather obscurely 3-nerved.—Low or sandy ground, S. Penn. to Kan., and southwestward. Aug.

58. MÉLICA, L. Melic-Grass. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets 2–8-flowered; the 1–3 upper flowers imperfect and dissimilar, convolute around each other, and enwrapped by the upper fertile flower. Empty glumes usually large, scarious-margined, convex, obtuse; the upper 7–9-nerved. Flowering glume papery-membranaceous, dry and sometimes indurating with age, rounded or flattish on the back, 5–many-nerved, scarious at the entire blunt summit. Stamens 3.—Perennials with soft flat leaves. Panicle simple or sparingly branched; the rather large spikelets racemose-one-sided. (An old Italian name for Sorghum, from mel, honey.)

1. M. mùtica, Walt. (Pl. 10.) Slender, with usually narrow leaves, the panicle often reduced to a simple raceme; lower glumes nearly equal and almost equalling the spikelet; fertile flowers usually 2; flowering glumes broad, smooth, obtuse.—Rich soil, Penn. to Fla., west to Wisc., Iowa, and Tex.

2. M. diffùsa, Pursh. Taller, 2½–4° high, with mostly broader leaves and a more usually compound and many-flowered panicle; lower glumes more unequal, the outer very broad; fertile flowers usually 3; flowering glumes somewhat scabrous and more acute. (M. mutica, var. diffusa, Gray.)—Penn. to Ill., and southward.

(Addendum) 3. M. Pórteri, Scribn. Tall and slender; panicle very narrow, the slender branches erect or the lower slightly divergent; pedicels flexuous or recurved, pubescent; glumes very unequal and shorter than the spikelet; fertile flowers 3–5, the glumes scabrous.—Mountains of Col. and southward; reported from Cass Co., Neb. (J. G. Smith).

59. DIARRHÈNA, Raf. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets several-flowered, smooth and shining, one or two of the uppermost flowers sterile. Empty glumes ovate, much shorter than the flowers, coriaceous; the lower much smaller; flowering glume ovate, convex on the back, rigidly coriaceous, its 3 nerves terminating in a strong and abrupt cuspidate or awl-shaped tip. Squamulæ ovate, ciliate. Stamens 2. Grain very large, obliquely ovoid, obtusely pointed, rather longer than the glume, the cartilaginous shining pericarp not adherent to the seed.—A nearly smooth perennial, with running rootstocks, producing simple culms (2–3° high) with long linear-lanceolate flat leaves toward the base, naked above, bearing a few short-pedicelled spikelets (2–3´´ long) in a very simple panicle. (Name composed of δίς, two, and ἄῤῥην, man, from the two stamens.)

1. D. Americàna, Beauv. Shaded river-banks and woods, Ohio to Ill., and southward. Aug.

60. UNÌOLA, L. Spike-Grass. (Pl. 11.)

Spikelets closely many-flowered, very flat and 2-edged; 3–6 of the lowest glumes empty, lanceolate, compressed-keeled; flowering glume coriaceo-membranaceous, strongly laterally compressed and keeled, striate-nerved, usually acute or pointed, entire, enclosing the much smaller compressed 2-keeled palet and the free laterally flattened smooth grain. Stamen 1 (or in U. paniculata 3).—Upright smooth perennials, growing in tufts from strong creeping rootstocks, with broad leaves and large spikelets in an open or spiked panicle. (Ancient name of some plant, a diminutive of unio, unity.)

[*] Spikelets large (½–2´ long), ovate or oblong, 9–30-flowered; panicle open.

1. U. paniculàta, L. (Sea Oats.) Culm and panicle elongated (4–8° high); leaves narrow, when dry convolute; spikelets ovate, short-pedicelled; glumes glabrous, bluntish, several of the lower sterile; stamens 3.—Sand-hills on the sea shore, S. Va. and southward.

2. U. latifòlia, Michx. (Pl. 11, fig. 1–3) Culm 2–4° high; panicle loose; leaves broad and flat (nearly 1´ wide); spikelets at length oblong, hanging on long pedicels; glumes acute, ciliate on the keel, all but the lowest with perfect monandrous flowers.—Shaded slopes, S. Penn. to Ill., and southward.

[*][*] Spikelets small; panicle contracted, wand-like; perfect flowers long-pointed.

3. U. grácilis, Michx. Culm 3° high, slender; spikelets short-pedicelled (2–3´´ long), broadly wedge-shaped, acute at base, 4–8-flowered; glumes ovate and divergently beaked, long, the 3 lowest empty.—Sandy soil, from Long Island to Va., near the coast, and southward. Aug.

61. DISTÍCHLIS, Raf. Spike-Grass. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets and numerous flowers compressed, crowded in a densely spiked or capitate panicle. Glumes herbaceous or membranaceous, the lower faintly many-nerved; flowering glumes rather coriaceous, laterally much flattened, faintly many-nerved, acute. Ovary stalked.—Flowers diœcious, rather large. Leaves crowded, involute, usually rigid. (Name from δίστιχος, two-ranked.)

1. D. marítima, Raf. Culms tufted from creeping rootstocks (9–18´ high); spike oblong, flattened (1´ long); spikelets ovate or oblong, 5–10-flowered; glumes smooth and naked; grain pointed. (Brizopyrum spicatum, Hook.)—Salt marshes and shores. Aug.—Glumes of the pistillate flowers more rigid and almost keeled; stigmas very long, plumose; the staminate glumes smaller and somewhat rounded on the back. (Addendum)—Distichlis maritima. On alkaline soil in Neb., and very common in similar localities west and southwestward; chiefly the var. strícta, Thurb., with setaceously convolute leaves, the many- (10–20-) flowered spikelets in a loose panicle.

62. DÁCTYLIS, L. Orchard Grass. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets several-flowered, crowded in one-sided clusters, forming a branching dense panicle. Glumes all herbaceous, keeled, awn-pointed, rough-ciliate on the keel; the flowering one 5-nerved, the upper most commonly smaller and thinner. Stamens 3. Grain lance-oblong, acute, free.—Stout tufted perennial; leaves keeled. (Dactylos, a name in Pliny for a grass with digitate spikes, from δάκτυλος, a finger.)

D. glomeràta, L. Rough, rather glaucous (3° high); leaves broadly linear; branches of the panicle naked at base; spikelets 3–4-flowered.—Fields and yards, especially in shade. June. (Nat. from Eu.)

63. BRÌZA, L. Quaking Grass. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets many-flowered, ovate or heart-shaped, flattish-tumid; the flowers closely imbricated. Glumes roundish, unequal, purplish, very concave or ventricose, 3–5-nerved; the flowering ventricose on the back, heart-shaped at the base, papery-membranaceous and becoming dry, scarious-margined, obscurely many-nerved; the palet much smaller, ovate, flat. Stamens 3. Stigmas branched-plumose. Grain flattened parallel with the glumes, adhering to the palet.—Leaves flat; panicle loose, diffuse, with large showy spikelets often drooping on delicate pedicels. (Βρίζα, the Greek name of a kind of grain.)

B. mèdia, L. Panicle erect, the branches spreading; spikelets 5–9-flowered (3´´ long); lower glumes shorter than the first flowering one; root perennial. —Pastures; sparingly eastward. June. (Adv. from Eu.)

64. PÒA, L. Meadow-Grass. Spear-Grass. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets ovate or lance-ovate, laterally compressed, several- (2–10-) flowered, in an open panicle. Empty glumes mostly shorter than the flowers, the lower smaller; flowering glume membranaceo-herbaceous, with a delicate scarious margin, compressed-keeled, pointless, 5-nerved (the intermediate nerves more obscure or obsolete), the principal nerves commonly clothed with soft hairs at and toward the often cobwebby base; palet membranaceous, 2-toothed. Stamens 2 or 3. Stigmas simply plumose. Grain oblong, free.—Culms tufted, from perennial roots, except n. 1. Leaves smooth, usually flat and soft. (Πόα, an ancient Greek name for grass or fodder.)

P. compréssa, L. (Wire-Grass. English Blue-Grass.) (Pl. 10, fig. 1–4.) Pale, as if glaucous; leaves short; panicle dense and narrow, somewhat one-sided (1–3´ long), the short branches mostly in pairs; spikelets almost sessile, 3–10-flowered, flat.—Dry, mostly sterile soil, in waste places; rarely in woods. (Nat. from Eu.)

[*][*][*] Low alpine or alpestrine species, erect, in perennial tufts.

[+] Soft and flaccid, smooth or nearly so, even to the branches of the panicle; leaves short and flat, short-pointed; ligule elongated.

1. P. alpìna, L. Culms rather stout (8–14´ high); leaves broadly linear, especially those of the culm (1½–2´ long, 1½–3´´ wide); panicle short and broad; spikelets broadly ovate, 3–9-flowered (about 3´´ long); flowering glume villous on the midrib and margins.—N. Maine (?), Isle Royale and north shore of Lake Superior, and northward. (Eu.)

2. P. láxa, Haenke. Culms slender (4–9´ high); leaves narrow; panicle somewhat raceme-like, narrow, often one-sided and nodding; spikelets 2–4-flowered, one half smaller.—Alpine mountain-tops of Maine, N. H., and N. New York, and high northward (Eu.)

[+][+] More strict and rigid, roughish, especially the panicle; ligule short.

3. P. nemoràlis, L. Culms 6–20´ high; leaves narrow, short, soon involute; branches of the panicle 2–5 together, very scabrous; spikelets purplish (or sometimes pale), 2–5-flowered; lower glumes ovate-lanceolate and taper-pointed, the flowering lanceolate, somewhat webby at base, villous on the keel and margins below the middle, its nerves obscure. (P. cæsia, Smith.)—The more common form has a usually narrow somewhat nodding panicle, with short ascending branches, the small pale or purplish spikelets 2-flowered. Lab. to N. Maine and N. Vt.; Lake Champlain (Pringle); N. shore of L. Superior to N. Iowa, and westward.—A form with somewhat stouter and stricter habit, the darker or often pale spikelets 3–5-flowered (P. cæsia, var. strictior, Gray), corresponds nearly to the European P. cæsia. High mountains of N. H. and Vt., and Gardner's Island, L. Champlain (C. E. Faxon), Isle Royale and N. shore of L. Superior, and westward.—Also a form with the branches of the short panicle broadly divaricate; N. Wisc. (Lapham). (Eu.)

[*][*][*][*] Taller (1–3°) meadow or woodland grasses; panicle open.

[++][++][++] Spikelets larger (3–4´´ long), pale green, rarely purple-tinged, few and scattered at the ends of the long capillary branches (mostly in pairs or threes) of the very diffuse panicle; flowers 3–6, loose, oblong and obtuse, as is the larger glume; flowering glume conspicuously scarious at the apex, villous below the middle on the keel and margins; culms flattish, smooth.

65. GRAPHÉPHORUM, Desv. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets 2–4-flowered, compressed, the rhachis pilose on one side, jointed, produced above the flowers into a hairy pedicel. Empty glumes thin-membranaceous, acute, carinate, mostly nearly equalling the remote flowers; flowering glume thin and membranaceous or scarious, convex, scarcely keeled, faintly nerved, entire, pointless and awnless. Stamens 3. Stigmas plumose. Ovary glabrous.—Perennial, with linear flat leaves, their sheaths closed at base, the spikelets in a loose panicle. (Named from γραφίς, a pencil, and φέρω, to bear, from the terminal hairy pedicel.)

1. G. melicoídeum, Desv. Culm 1–2° high; leaves roughish; panicle open; glumes unequal, lanceolate, their midrib and the pedicels rough.—N. Maine, N. Vt., Upper Mich., and northward; rare.—Var. màjus, Gray, is a luxuriant form, 2–3° high, with ampler panicle; borders of a swamp, Macomb Co., Mich. Aug.

66. SCOLÓCHLOA, Link.

Spikelets 2–4-flowered, subterete. Rhachis hairy at the base of the flowers, ending in a naked pedicel. Empty glumes concave, membranaceous, unequal, the outer 3-nerved, acute, the inner 5-nerved, toothed at the apex, nearly equalling the flowers; flowering glume more rigid, prominently 7-nerved, toothed at the apex; nerves all parallel. Stamens 3. Stigmas plumose. Ovary hairy.—Tall perennials, growing in water, with loosely sheathing leaves, and spikelets in a lax panicle. (Name probably from σκῶλος, a prickle, and χλόα, grass.)

1. S. festucàcea, Link. Stout, 3–4° high, smooth; leaves rough on the margins; panicle suberect; spikelets 3–4´´ long. (Festuca borealis, Hook.)—Emmet Co., Iowa (Cratty), and northward.

67. GLYCÈRIA, R. Br. Manna-Grass. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets terete or flattish, several–many-flowered; the flowers mostly early deciduous by the breaking up of the rhachis into joints, leaving the short and unequal 1–3-nerved membranaceous lower glumes behind. Flowering glume and palet naked, of a rather firm texture, nearly equal; the glume rounded on the back, scarious (and sometimes obscurely toothed) at the blunt or rarely acute summit, glabrous, prominently 5–7-nerved, the nerves parallel and separate. Squamulæ fleshy and truncate, or none. Stamens commonly 2. Styles present; stigmas compoundly plumose. Ovary smooth. Grain oblong, free, the furrow very narrow or none.—Perennial smooth marsh grasses, mostly with creeping bases or rootstocks; spikelets panicled. (Name from γλυκερός, sweet, in allusion to the taste of the grain.)

4. G. nervàta, Trin. (Fowl Meadow-Grass.) (Pl. 10, fig. 1–3.) Culm erect, 1–3° high; leaves rather long; branches of the loose panicle capillary, at length drooping, the numerous small spikelets (1–2´´ long, commonly purplish) ovate-oblong, 3–7-flowered.—Moist meadows; common. June.

5. G. pállida, Trin. Culms slender, 1–3° long, ascending from a creeping base; leaves short, sharp-pointed, pale; branches of the rather simple panicle slender, erect-spreading, rough; the spikelets usually few, somewhat appressed, oblong-linear, 5–9-flowered (pale, 2–3´´ long); flowering glume minutely 5-toothed; the palet lanceolate, conspicuously 2-toothed.—Shallow water; Maine to Va., west to Ky., Ind., and Mich.; common, especially northward. July.

6. G. grándis, Watson. (Reed Meadow-Grass.) Culm stout, upright, 3–5° high; leaves large (1–2° long, {1/3}–½´ wide); panicle much branched, ample (8–15´ long), the numerous branches ascending, spreading with age; spikelets oblong or linear-oblong, 3–6-flowered (usually purplish, 2–3´´ long); flowering glume entire. (G. aquatica of Amer. authors.)—Wet grounds; N. Eng. to western N. Y., Mich., Minn., and westward.

[*][*] Spikelets linear (½–1´ long), pale, appressed on the branches of the long narrow racemose panicle, terete except during anthesis; palets minutely roughish, the upper 2-toothed; squamulæ unilateral or united; ligule long; culm flattened (1–5° high), ascending from a rooting base. (Glyceria, R. Br.)

7. G. flùitans, R. Br. Panicle 1° long; the simple branches appressed, finally spreading below; leaves short and rather broad, very smooth; spikelets 7–13-flowered; flowering glume oblong, obtuse, or the scarious tip acutish, entire or obscurely 3-lobed, usually rather longer than the blunt palet.—Shallow water; common. June–Aug.

68. PUCCINÉLLIA, Parl. (Pl. 16.)

Characters as in Glyceria, but the flowering glumes inconspicuously or obsoletely 5-nerved; squamulæ thin and distinct; stigmas sessile and simply plumose; grain compressed, often broadly furrowed.—Mostly saline species; perennial. (Named for Prof. Benedetto Puccinelli, an Italian botanist.)

1. P. marítima, Parl. (Goose-Grass. Sea Spear-Grass.) Root stoloniferous; culms erect, 1–1½° high; leaves involute, acute or pungent; lower branches of the narrow panicle often solitary or in pairs, appressed or more or less spreading; spikelets 3–6´´ long, oblong or linear, 4–9-flowered; flowering glumes rounded at the summit, 1½´´ long. (Glyceria maritima, Wahl. Atropis maritima, Griseb.)—Marshes along the coast; not rare, and somewhat variable in the form of the panicle and size of the glumes. (Eu.)

Var. (?) mìnor, Watson. Culms low and slender, from very slender creeping rootstocks; leaves very narrow and involute; ligule long; panicle short and very narrow; spikelets 2–4-flowered, the flowers 1´´ long or less.—Shore of Mt. Desert Island (E. L. Rand); Labrador (J. A. Allen).—Probably rather a form of the western P. airoides (Poa airoides, Nutt.).

2. P. dístans, Parl. Not stoloniferous; culms rather stout, geniculate below; leaves mostly flat, short; ligule short; lower branches of the panicle in fours or fives, usually more or less naked at base, soon spreading and at length deflexed; spikelets 2–3´´ long, 3–6-flowered; flowering glume truncate-obtuse, ½–1´´ long. (Glyceria distans, Wahl. Atropis distans, Griseb.)—Salt marshes along the coast and on ballast; apparently much rarer than the last, and perhaps not native. (Eu.)

69. FESTÙCA, L. Fescue-grass. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets 3–many-flowered, panicled or racemose; the flowers not webby at base. Lower glumes unequal, mostly keeled. Flowering glumes chartaceous or almost coriaceous, roundish (not keeled) on the back, more or less 3–5-nerved, acute, pointed, or often bristle-awned from the tip, rarely blunt; the palet mostly adhering at maturity to the enclosed grain. Stamens 1–3.—Flowers, and often the leaves, rather dry and harsh. (An ancient Latin name of some kind of grass, of uncertain meaning.)

[*] Flowers awl-shaped, bristle-pointed or awned from the tip; panicle contracted.

[+] Annuals or biennials, slender, 5–18´ high; leaves convolute-bristle-form.

F. Myùrus, L. Panicle spike-like, one-sided; spikelets about 5-flowered; lower glumes very unequal; awn much longer than the flowering glume, fully 6´´ in length; stamen 1.—Dry fields, Nantucket, Mass., to Del., and southward. July. (Nat. from Eu.)

1. F. tenélla, Willd. Panicle spike-like, one-sided, or more compound and open; spikelets 7–13-flowered; awn 1–3´´ long or more, usually shorter than or about equalling the glume; stamens 2.—Dry sterile soil, especially southward. June, July.

F. elàtior, L. (Taller or Meadow Fescue.) (Pl. 10, fig. 1–3.) Panicle narrow, contracted before and after flowering, erect, with short branches; spikelets crowded, 5–10-flowered; flowers rather remote, oblong-lanceolate; flowering glume 5-nerved, scarious-margined, blunt, acute, or rarely with a distinct but very short awn.—The type is large, 3–4° high; spikelets about 6´´ long, in an ample and compound panicle. Rich grass-land.—Var. praténsis, Gray (F. pratensis, Huds.), is lower (1–3° high), with a simpler or close panicle of smaller or narrower spikelets, and abounds in grass-lands. June–Aug. (Nat. from Eu.)

F. gigantèa, Vill. Erect, glabrous, 3–4° high; leaves bright green, 3–6´´ broad; panicle very loose, nodding; spikelets 3–6-flowered; flowering glumes 3´´ long, with a slender awn of twice the length.—Of rare occurrence near the coast. (Nat. from Eu.)

70. BRÒMUS, L. Brome-Grass. (Pl. 10.)

Spikelets 5–many-flowered, panicled. Glumes unequal, membranaceous; the lower 1–5-, the upper 3–9-nerved. Flowering glume either convex on the back or compressed-keeled, 5–9-nerved, awned or bristle-pointed from below the mostly 2-cleft tip; palet at length adhering to the groove of the oblong or linear grain. Stamens 3. Styles attached below the apex of the ovary.—Coarse grasses, with large spikelets, at length drooping, on pedicels thickened at the apex. (An ancient name for the Oat, from βρόμος, food.)

B. secálinus, L. (Cheat or Chess.) (Pl. 10, fig. 1, 2.) Panicle spreading, even in fruit, the drooping peduncles little branched; spikelets oblong-ovate, turgid, smooth, of 8–10 rather distant flowers; glume rather longer than the palet, short-awned or awnless; sheaths nearly glabrous.—Too common in wheat-fields. June, July. (Adv. from Eu.)

B. móllis, L. (Soft Chess.) Whole plant downy; panicle more erect, contracted in fruit; spikelets conical-ovate, somewhat flattened; flowers closely imbricated; glume acute, equalling the awn.—Wheat-fields, N. Y. to Va.; scarce. June. (Adv. from Eu.)

B. racemòsus, L. (Upright Chess.) Very similar to the last, but nearly glabrous or the sheaths sometimes hairy; glumes glabrous and shining. (Adv. from Eu.)

§ 2. Flowering glume somewhat convex, but keeled and laterally more or less compressed, at least above; flowers soon separating from each other; lower empty glume 1-nerved, the upper 3-nerved, or with an obscure additional pair.

[*] Perennial, tall (3–5° high); flowers oblong or lanceolate.

2. B. ciliàtus, L. Panicle compound, very loose, the elongated branches at length divergent, drooping; spikelets 7–12-flowered; flowering glume tipped with an awn ½–¾ its length, silky with appressed hairs near the margins, at least below (or rarely naked), smooth or smoothish on the back;—or, in var. púrgans, Gray, clothed all over with short and fine appressed hairs.—River-banks and moist woodlands; common. July, Aug.—Culm and large leaves (3–6´´ wide) smooth or somewhat hairy; the sheaths in the larger forms often hairy or densely downy near the top. Variable, comprising several forms.

B. ásper, L. Culm slender and panicle smaller; spikelets 5–9-flowered; glume linear-lanceolate, scarcely keeled, hairy near the margins, rather longer than the awn; sheaths and lower leaves hairy or downy.—N. Brunswick to Mich. and Ky. (Nat. from Eu.)

[*][*] Annual or biennial; flowers slender; palet pectinate-ciliate on the nerves.

B. stérilis, L. Culm glabrous; leaves rather downy; panicle open; spikelets on elongated nearly straight simple peduncles, of 5–9 rather distant 7-nerved roughish linear-awl-shaped long-awned flowers (awn 1´ long).—Waste places and river-banks, E. Mass. to Penn.; rare. June. (Nat. from Eu.)

B. tectòrum, L. Leaves short; panicle lax, somewhat 1-sided, the more numerous pubescent spikelets on very slender curving pedicels.—More common, N. Eng. to Penn. and N. Y. (Adv. from Eu.)

71. LÒLIUM, L. Darnel. (Pl. 11.)

Spikelets many-flowered, solitary on each joint of the continuous rhachis, placed edgewise; empty glumes, except in the terminal spikelet, only one (the upper) and external. Otherwise nearly as in Agropyrum. (Ancient Latin name.)

L. perénne, L. (Common Darnel, Ray- or Rye-Grass.) Root perennial; glume shorter than the spikelet; flowers 8–15, awnless or sometimes short-awned.—Fields and lots; eastward. June. (Nat. from Eu.)

L. temuléntum, L. (Bearded Darnel.) Root annual; culm taller; outer glume fully equalling the 5–7-flowered spikelet; awn longer than the flower (½´ long).—Grain-fields; rare. (Adv. from Eu.)

72. AGROPỲRUM, Gaertn. (Pl. 11.)

Spikelets 3–many-flowered, compressed, 2-ranked, alternate on opposite sides of a solitary terminal spike, single at each joint (the lowermost, or all, rarely in pairs) and sessile with the side against the axis. Glumes transverse (i.e. right and left), nearly equal and opposite, lanceolate, herbaceous, nerved. Flowering glumes rigid, convex on the back, 5–7-nerved, pointed or awned from the tip; palet flattened, bristly-ciliate on the nerves, adherent to the groove of the grain. Stamens 3.—Our species rather coarse perennials, of difficult definition. (Name from ἀγρός a field, and πυρός, wheat.)

[*] Multiplying by long running rootstocks; awn shorter than the flower or none.

1. A. rèpens, Beauv. (Couch-, Quitch-, or Quick-Grass.) Spikelets 4–8-flowered, glabrous or nearly so; glumes 3–7-nerved; rhachis glabrous, but rough on the edges; awns when present straight; leaves flat and often roughish or pubescent above. (Triticum repens, L.)—Nat. from Europe in cultivated grounds, fields, etc., and very troublesome; indigenous in some of its forms northwestward and on the coast.—Varies greatly. The ordinary form has a narrow spike, with 3–5-flowered spikelets, the glumes merely acute and rigid-cuspidate, or acuminate, or short-awned. A tall form, rather bright green, bears awns nearly as long as the glumes. Other forms abound, especially on or near the coast. A maritime variety, much resembling var. glaucum, Boiss. (A. glaucum, R. & S.), with large crowded 5–10-flowered spikelets and glumes very blunt or mucronate, glaucous and the leaves rather rigid and pungent, occurs on the coast of Maine (Cape Elizabeth, Tuckerman). In the more usual form of this variety, with the large spikes often elongated (3–9´) and the leaves less rigid, the glumes are acuminate or rarely short-awned. The rhachis or the whole inflorescence and the lower sheaths are sometimes very pubescent. The glabrous state, or a very similar glabrous variety, is also abundant in the western region, from Kan. and Neb. to Dak., and westward, where it is known as Blue-joint or Blue-stem. (Eu.)

2. A. dasystàchyum, Vasey. Resembling the last; glaucous; leaves narrow and often involute; the 5–9-flowered spikelets densely downy-hairy all over; glumes thinner with scarious margins, mostly long-acuminate. (Triticum dasystachyum, Gray.)—Sandy shores of Lake Huron and Superior, and northward. Aug.

[*][*] No obvious running rootstocks, glabrous, or the flat and roughish leaves sometimes hairy above; glumes as well as flowers mostly awned or awn-pointed.

74. HÓRDEUM, Tourn. Barley. (Pl. 11.)

Spikelets 1-flowered, with an awl-shaped rudiment on the inner side, three at each joint of the rhachis of a terminal spike, but the lateral ones usually imperfect or abortive, and short-stalked. Empty glumes side by side in front of the spikelets, 6 in number, forming a kind of involucre, slender and awn-pointed or bristle-form. Flowering glume and palet herbaceous, the former (anterior) convex, long-awned from the apex. Stamens 3. Grain oblong, commonly adherent.—Spike often separating into joints. Ours annuals or biennials, or scarcely perennial. (The ancient Latin name.)

1. H. jubàtum, L. (Squirrel-tail Grass.) (Pl. 11, fig. 1, 2.) Low; lateral flowers abortive, on a short pedicel, short-awned; the perfect flower bearing a capillary awn (2´ long) about equalling the similar capillary glumes, all spreading.—Sandy sea-shore, upper Great Lakes, and westward. June.

2. H. praténse, Huds. Low (6–18´ high); lateral flowers imperfect or neutral, awnless or merely pointed; perfect flower with awn as long as those of the glumes (3–6´´); spike linear, 1–2´ long.—Plains, especially in saline soil, Ohio to Ill. and westward; also sparingly introduced, Va., and southward along the coast. May, June. (Eu.)

75. ÉLYMUS, L. Lyme-Grass. Wild Rye. (Pl. 11.)

Spikelets 2–4 at each joint of the rhachis of a terminal spike, all fertile and alike, sessile, each 1–7-flowered. Glumes conspicuous, nearly side by side in front of the spikelets, 2 for each spikelet, forming an involucre to the cluster. Flower coriaceous; the glume rounded on the back, acute or awned at the apex. Grain adherent to the involving glume (whence the name, an ancient one for some grain, from ἐλυω, to roll up).

[*] Glumes and flowers firm or rigid, all or only the latter awned; spikelets 1–5-flowered; slender perennials, with rather harsh and broad flat leaves.

[+] Spike large and stout.

1. E. Virgínicus, L. (Pl. 11, fig. 1–3.) Culm stout, 2–3° high; spike rigidly upright, dense (2–3´ long, 6´´ thick), the short peduncle usually included in the sheath; spikelets 2–3 together, 2–3-flowered, smooth, rather short-awned, about the length of the thickened strongly-nerved and bristle-pointed lanceolate glumes.—River-banks; common. Aug.

2. E. Canadénsis, L. Spike soon nodding (5–9´ long), on an exserted peduncle; spikelets mostly in pairs, of 3–5 long-awned rough or rough-hairy flowers; the awl-shaped glumes tipped with shorter awns.—Var. glaucifòlius, Gray, is pale or glaucous throughout, the flowers with more spreading awns (1½´ long).—Var. intermèdius, Vasey, has the awns scarcely longer than the glumes.—River-banks; common.

[+][+] Spike and culm more slender.

3. E. striàtus, Willd. More or less pubescent; spike dense and thickish (2–4´ long), upright or slightly nodding; spikelets mostly in pairs, 1–2- (or rarely 3-) flowered, minutely bristly-hairy; glumes awl-shaped, bristle-awned, 1–3-nerved, about thrice the length of the flowers, which are only 3´´ long exclusive of the capillary awn (1´ long).—Var. villòsus, Gray, has very hairy flowers and glumes, and villous sheaths.—Rocky woods and banks. July, Aug.

4. E. Sibíricus, L., var. Americànus. Glabrous; spike wand-like (2–6´ long, 2–3´´ thick), often somewhat nodding; spikelets in pairs, 3–6-flowered; glumes linear-lanceolate, 3–5-nerved, acuminate and smooth or often scabrous on the nerves, short-awned, shorter than the flowers, which bear an erect awn of once or twice their length.—Marquette, Mich. (Porter), N. Minn., and westward.

[*][*] Glumes and palet awnless and soft in texture; reed-like perennials.

5. E. móllis, Trin. Culm (3° high) velvety at top; spike thick, erect (8´ long); spikelets 2 or 3 at each joint, 5–8-flowered; the lanceolate pointed 5–7-nerved glumes (1´ long) and the pointed flowers soft-villous; rhachis of the spikelets separating into joints.—Shore of the Great Lakes, Maine, and northward. (Near E. arenarius.)

[*][*][*] Empty glumes very narrow, and all very long-awned; spike disarticulating at maturity.

6. E. Sitànion, Schultes. Low (½–2° high), stout; spike 1–4´ long, the peduncle slightly exserted; the spreading scabrous awns 2–3´ long.—Central Minn. to Kan., and westward.

76. ASPRÉLLA, Willd. Bottle-brush Grass. (Pl. 11.)

Spikelets 2–3 or sometimes solitary on each joint of the rhachis of a terminal spike, raised on a very short callous pedicel, loosely 2–4-flowered (when solitary flatwise on the rhachis). Glumes none! or small, awn-like, and deciduous. Otherwise nearly as in Elymus. (Name a diminutive of asper, rough or prickly.)

1. A. Hýstrix, Willd. Perennial; culms 3–4° high; leaves and sheaths smoothish; spike loose (3–6´ long); the spreading spikelets 2–3 together, early deciduous; flowers smoothish or often rough-hairy, tipped with an awn thrice their length (1´ long). (Gymnostichum Hystrix, Schreb.)—Moist woodlands. July, Aug.

77. ARUNDINÀRIA, Michx. Cane. (Pl. 11.)

Spikelets flattened, 5–14-flowered; the flowers somewhat separated on the jointed rhachis. Empty glumes very small, membranaceous, the upper one larger. Flowering glumes and palet herbaceous or somewhat membranaceous, the glume convex on the back, many-nerved, tapering into a mucronate point or bristle. Squamulæ 3, longer than the ovary. Stamens 3. Grain oblong, free.—Arborescent or shrubby grasses, simple or with fascicled branches, and with large spikelets in panicles or racemes; blade of the leaf jointed upon the sheath; flowers polygamous. (Name from arundo, a reed.)

1. A. macrospérma, Michx. (Large Cane.) (Pl. 11, fig. 1, 2.) Culms arborescent, 10–40° high and ½–3´ thick at base, rigid, simple the first year, branching the second, afterwards at indefinite periods fruiting, and soon after decaying; leaves lanceolate (1–2´ wide), smoothish or pubescent, the sheath ciliate on one margin, stoutly fimbriate each side of the base of the leaf; panicle lateral, composed of few simple racemes; spikelets 1–3´ long, purplish or pale, erect; flowering glume lanceolate, acute or acuminate, glabrous or pubescent, fringed (5–12´´ long).—River-banks, S. Va.(?), Ky., and southward, forming cane-brakes. April.

Var. suffruticòsa, Munro. (Switch Cane. Small Cane.) Lower and more slender (2–10° high), often growing in water; leaves 4´´–1´ broad; spikelets solitary or in a simple raceme at the summit of the branches, or frequently on leafless radical culms. (A. tecta, Muhl.)—Swamps and moist soil, Md., S. Ind. to S. E. Mo., and southward. Sometimes fruiting several years in succession.

SERIES II.

CRYPTOGAMOUS or FLOWERLESS PLANTS.

1. EQUISÈTUM, L. Horsetail. Scouring Rush. (Pl. 21)

Spore-cases (sporangia, thecæ) 6 or 7, adhering to the under side of the angled shield-shaped scales of the spike, 1-celled, opening down the inner side and discharging the numerous loose spores. To the base of each spore are attached 4 thread-like and club-shaped elastic filaments, which roll up closely around the spore when moist, and uncoil when dry.—Rootstocks perennial, wide-creeping, hard and blackish, jointed, often branched and sometimes bearing small tubers. Stems erect, cylindrical, hollow, jointed; the surface striated or grooved with alternate ridges and furrows, the cuticle in most species containing silica in the form of minute granules, rosettes, or tubercles; the joints containing besides the central air-cavity a circle of smaller hollows beneath the furrows and a set of still smaller ones beneath the ridges; the nodes closed and solid, each bearing instead of leaves a sheath which is divided into teeth corresponding in number and position to the principal ridges of the stem; stomata in the furrows, each with two pairs of guard-cells, of which the outer pair is marked with radiating lines of silica. Branches, when present, in whorls from the base of the sheath, like the stem, but without the central air-cavity. Prothallus green, formed upon the ground, often variously lobed, usually diœcious. (The ancient name, from equus, horse, and seta, bristle.)

§ 1. Annual-stemmed, not surviving the winter.

[*] Fruiting in spring from soft and rather succulent pale or brownish fertile stems, the sterile stems or branches appearing later, herbaceous and very different.

[+] Fertile stems unbranched, destitute of chlorophyll and soon perishing; the sterile branching copiously.

1. E. arvénse, L. (Common H.) Fertile stems (4–10´ high) with loose and usually distant about 8–12-toothed sheaths; the sterile slender (at length 1–2° high), 10–14-furrowed, producing long and simple or sparingly branched 4-angular branches, their teeth 4, herbaceous, lanceolate.—Moist, especially gravelly soil; very common. March–May. Rootstocks often bearing little tubers.—Var. campéstre, Milde, is a not uncommon state, in which the sterile stem bears a small fruiting spike at the summit. (Eu.)

[+][+] Fertile stems when older producing herbaceous 3-sided branches, and lasting through the summer, except the naked top which perishes after fructification.

2. E. praténse, Ehrh. Sterile and finally also the fertile stems producing simple straight branches; sheaths of the stem with ovate-lanceolate short teeth, those of the branches 3-toothed; stems more slender and the branches shorter than in the last.—Mich. to Minn., and northward. April, May. (Eu.)

3. E. sylváticum, L. Sterile and fertile stems (about 12-furrowed) producing compound racemed branches; sheaths loose, with 8–14 rather blunt teeth, those of the branches bearing 4 or 5, of the branchlets 3, lance-pointed divergent teeth.—Wet shady places; common northward. May. (Eu.)

[*][*] Fruiting in summer; stems all of one kind, or the fertile contemporaneous with and like the sterile, equally herbaceous, producing mostly simple branches, or sometimes nearly naked.

4. E. palústre, L. Stems (10–18´ high) slender, very deeply 5–9-grooved, the ridges narrow and acute, roughish, the lance-awl shaped teeth whitish-margined; branches always hollow, 4–7-angled, rather few in a whorl.—Wet places, Niagara River (Clinton), Wisc. (Austin), and northward. June. (Eu.)

6. E. limòsum, L. (Pl. 21, fig. 1–5.) Stems (2–5° high) slightly many-furrowed, smooth, sometimes continuing unbranched, but usually producing ascending branches after fructification; sheaths appressed, with 10–22 (commonly about 18) dark-brown and acute rigid short teeth.—In shallow water; rather common.—Air-cavities none under the grooves, but small ones under the ridges. A form in which the branches bear numerous small spikes is var. polystàchyum, Brückner. June, July. (Eu.)

§ 2. Stems all alike, evergreen, unbranched, or producing a few slender erect branches; fruiting in summer. Central air-cavity of the stem very large.

[*] Stems tall and stout (1½–4° or even 6° high), simple, or casually branched, evenly many-grooved; sheaths appressed.

7. E. hyemàle, L. (Scouring-Rush. Shave-Grass.) Stems 1½–4° high, 8–34 grooved, the ridges roughened by two more or less distinct lines of tubercles; sheaths elongated, with a black girdle above the base and a black limb; ridges of the sheaths obscurely 4-carinate, the teeth blackish, membranaceous, soon falling off.—Wet banks; common northward. Formerly in common use for polishing wood and metal. (Eu.)

8. E. robústum, Braun. Stems tall and stout (sometimes 8–10° high and nearly an inch thick), 20–48-grooved, the ridges roughened with one line of transversely oblong tubercles; sheaths rather short, with a black girdle at base and a black limb; ridges of the sheaths tricarinate, the blackish teeth soon falling off.—River-banks, Ohio and westward.

9. E. lævigàtum, Braun. Stems 1–4° high, rather slender, pale green, 14–30-grooved, the ridges almost smooth; sheath slightly enlarged upward, with a black girdle at the base of the mostly deciduous white-margined teeth, and rarely also at the base of the sheath; ridges of the sheath with one keel, or sometimes obscurely tricarinate.—By streams and in clayey places, Ohio to Minn., and westward.

[*][*] Stems slender, in tufts, 5–10-grooved; sheaths looser.

10. E. variegàtum, Schleicher. Stems ascending (6–18´ long), usually simple from a branched base, 5–10-grooved; sheaths green variegated with black above, the 5–10 teeth tipped with a deciduous bristle.—Shores or river-banks, N. H. (Bellows Falls, Carey) and Niagara to Minn., and northward; rare. (Eu.)

11. E. scirpoìdes, Michx. Stems very numerous in a tuft, filiform (3–6´ high), flexuous and curving, mostly 6-grooved, with acute ridges; sheaths 3-toothed, the bristle-pointed teeth more persistent; central air-cavity wanting.—Wooded hillsides, N. Eng. to Penn., Minn., and northward. (Eu.)

Order 131. FÍLICES. (Ferns.)

Suborder I. Polypodiàceæ. Sporangia collected in dots, lines, or variously shaped clusters (sori or fruit-dots) on the back or margins of the frond or its divisions, cellular-reticulated, stalked, the stalk running into a vertical incomplete many-jointed ring, which by straightening at maturity ruptures the sporangium transversely on the inner side, discharging the spores. Fruit dots often covered (at least when young) by a membrane called the indusium (or less properly the involucre), growing either from the back or the margin of the frond. (Plates 16–19.)

Tribe I. POLYPODIEÆ. Fructification on the back of the frond, in round or roundish fruit-dots (sori) placed on the veins or at the ends of the veins, without indusium of any kind. Stipes articulated to the rootstock, leaving a distinct scar when separated. Veins free (not reticulated) in our species.

1. Polypodium. Sori round, in one or more rows, on each side of the midrib or of the segments of the frond.

Tribe II. GRAMMITIDEÆ. Sori more or less elongated, without indusium, placed on the back of the frond, usually along the veins or near their extremities. Veins free in our species.

2. Notholæna. Sori short, of few rather large sporangia, placed near the tips of the veins; under surface of the frond usually either chaffy, woolly, or powdery.

Tribe III. PTERIDEÆ. Fructification marginal or intramarginal, provided with a general indusium formed of the (either altered or unchanged) margin of the frond. Stipes not articulated to the rootstock. Veins free in all our species.

[*] Sporangia at the ends of the veins, on a reflexed portion of the margin of the frond.

3. Adiantum. Midrib of the pinnules marginal or none. Stipe black and polished.

[*][*] Sporangia borne on a continuous marginal vein-like receptacle, connecting the apices of the veins, and covered by a delicate whitish indusium formed of the reflexed margin.

4. Pteris. Midrib of the pinnules central. Stipe light colored.

[*][*][*] Sporangia at or near the ends of the unconnected veins, borne on the under surface of the frond; indusium various.

5. Cheilanthes. Sori minute, at the ends of the veins; indusium continuous or interrupted. Fronds mostly chaffy, woolly, or pulverulent, rarely smooth.

6. Pellæa. Sori on the upper part of the veins, distinct, or mostly forming a confluent submarginal band of sporangia. Indusium membranaceous, continuous, rarely wanting. Sterile and fertile fronds not very unlike; stipes dark colored; fronds smooth.

7. Cryptogramme. Sori roundish or elongated and extending far down the free veins, at first covered by the very broad continuous indusium, at length exposed and confluent. Sterile and fertile fronds very different; stipes light colored; fronds smooth.

Tribe IV. BLECHNEÆ. Sori oblong or linear, borne on a veinlet parallel to the midrib, and covered with a special usually concave or arched indusium attached to the fruiting veinlet, and opening along the inner side.

8. Woodwardia. Sori forming a chain-like row each side of the midrib or central vein. Veins reticulated.

Tribe V. ASPLENIEÆ. Sori more or less elongated, occupying one or both sides of oblique veins, covered by a special indusium which is attached by one side to the fertile vein, and is free on the other. Stipes not articulated.