Chapter D: GLOMERATA, L. Rough, rather glaucous (3 deg. 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. BRIZA, 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. ([Greek: Bri/za], the Greek name of a kind of grain.)

B. MEDIA, 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. POA, 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. ([Greek: Po/a], an ancient Greek name for grass or fodder.)

[*] _Low and spreading (3--6' high) from an annual or biennial root, flaccid; branches of the short panicle single or in pairs._

P. ANNUA, L. (LOW SPEAR-GRASS.) Culms flattened; panicle often 1-sided, usually short and pyramidal, sometimes more slender (P. cristata, _Chapm._); spikelets crowded, very short-pedicelled, 3--7-flowered.--Cultivated and waste grounds, everywhere. April--Oct. (Nat. from Eu.)

[*][*] _Low; the culms (6--20' long) geniculate-ascending from a running rootstock, rigid, very much flattened; panicle simple and contracted._

P. COMPRESSA, 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. alpina, L. Culms rather stout (8--14' high); _leaves broadly linear_, especially those of the culm (11/2--2' long, 11/2--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. laxa, 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. nemoralis, 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. caesia, _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. caesia, var. strictior, _Gray_), corresponds nearly to the European P. caesia. 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 deg.) meadow or woodland grasses; panicle open._

[+] _Spikelets mostly very numerous and crowded on the rather short rough branches (usually in fives) of the oblong or pyramidal panicle, green, or sometimes violet-tinged; flowers acute, crowded, more or less webbed at base._

4. P. serotina, Ehrhart. (FALSE RED-TOP. FOWL MEADOW-GRASS.) Culms tufted without running rootstocks; leaves narrowly linear, soft and smooth; _ligules elongated; spikelets_ 2--4- (rarely 5-) flowered (1--2'' long), _all short-pedicelled_ in an elongated panicle, often tinged with dull purple; flowers and glumes narrow; _flowering glume very obscurely nerved_.--Wet meadows and low banks of streams; common, especially northward. July, Aug.--A good grass for moist meadows. (Eu.)

5. P. pratensis, L. (JUNE GRASS. SPEAR GRASS. KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS.) Culms sending off copious _running rootstocks_ from the base, and the _sheaths smooth; ligule short and blunt_; panicle short-pyramidal; _spikelets_ 3--5-flowered, _crowded_, and mostly _almost sessile_ on the branches, ovate-lanceolate or ovate; _flowering glume 5-nerved, hairy on the margins_ as well as keel.--Common in dry soil; imported for pastures and meadows. Indigenous in mountain regions from N. Penn. to New Eng., and northward. May--July. (Eu.)

P. TRIVIALIS, L. (ROUGHISH MEADOW-GRASS.) Culms erect from a somewhat decumbent base, but no distinct running rootstocks; _sheaths and leaves more or less rough; ligule oblong, acute_; panicle longer or with the branches more distant; spikelets mostly 3-flowered, broader upward; _flowering glume prominently 5-nerved, naked at the margins_; otherwise nearly as in the preceding.--Moist meadows, etc. July. (Nat. from Eu.)

[+][+] _Spikelets fewer and more scattered, on slender pedicels; plants soft and smooth, flowering early. (No running rootstocks, except in n. 10.)_

[++] _Spikelets small (1--2'' long), pale green, rather loosely 2--4-flowered; flowers oblong, obtuse; flowering glume scarcely scarious-tipped; culm-leaves lance-linear, acute, 1--3' long._

6. P. sylvestris, Gray. _Culm flattish_, erect; branches of the oblong-pyramidal panicle short, numerous, in fives or more; _flowering glumes villous on the keel its whole length, and on the margins below the middle_, sparingly webbed at base.--Rocky woods and meadows, western N. Y. to Wisc., Kan., and southward. June.

7. P. debilis, Torr. _Culms terete_, weak; branches of the small panicle few and slender (the lower l1/2--2' long to the few spikelets), in pairs and threes; _flowers very obtuse, smooth and glabrous_, except a sparing web at base.--Rocky woodlands, R. I. to Penn. and Wisc. May.

[++][++] _Spikelets 2'' long, light green; oblong-lanceolate flowers and glumes acute._

8. P. alsodes, Gray. Leaves rather narrowly linear, acute, the uppermost (21/2--4' long) often sheathing the base of the narrow and loose panicle, the capillary branches appressed when young, mostly in threes or fours; flowering glume very obscurely nerved, villous on the keel below, and with a narrow cobwebby tuft at base, otherwise glabrous.--Woods, on hillsides, N. Eng. to Penn. and Va., west to Wisc. May, June.

[++][++][++] _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._

9. P. flexuosa, Muhl. (not of Wahl.) Culms 1--3 deg. high, tufted, its _leaves all linear (2--5' long), gradually taper-pointed; panicle very effuse_ (its branches 2--4' long to the 4--6-flowered spikelets or first ramification); _flowering glume prominently nerved, no web_ at the base.--Dry woods, Penn. and Del. to Ky., and southward. Feb.--May.--Near the last.

10. P. brevifolia, Muhl. Culms 1--11/2 deg. high from _running rootstocks_, 2--3-leaved, the _upper leaves very short (1/2--2' long), lanceolate, all abruptly cuspidate-tipped_; branches of the short panicle mostly in pairs; spikelets 3--4-flowered; _flowering glume rather obscurely nerved, cobwebby at base_.--Rocky or hilly woodlands, Penn., Va., and sparingly westward to Ky. and Ill. April, May.--Culm scarcely surpassing the long root-leaves.

65. GRAPHEPHORUM, 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 [Greek: graphi/s], _a pencil_, and [Greek: phe/ro], _to bear_, from the terminal hairy pedicel.)

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

66. SCOLOCHLOA, 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 [Greek: sko~los], _a prickle_, and [Greek: chlo/a], _grass_.)

1. S. festucacea, Link. Stout, 3--4 deg. high, smooth; leaves rough on the margins; panicle suberect; spikelets 3--4'' long. (Festuca borealis, _Hook_.)--Emmet Co., Iowa (_Cratty_), and northward.

67. GLYCERIA, 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. Squamulae 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 [Greek: glykero/s], _sweet_, in allusion to the taste of the grain.)

[*] _Spikelets ovate, oblong, or linear-oblong, 1--3'' in length_,

[+] _At length nodding in an open panicle, flattish laterally but turgid._

1. G. Canadensis, Trin. (RATTLESNAKE-GRASS.) Culm stout, 2--3 deg. high; leaves long, roughish; panicle oblong-pyramidal, at length drooping; spikelets ovate, at length very broad and tumid, Briza-like, 2'' long, pale, with purplish glumes; flowering glume acute or blunt-pointed, firm, with not very prominent nerves, longer than the rounded palet.--Bogs and wet places; common from Penn. to E. Kan., and northward. July.

[+][+] _Erect in a narrow contracted panicle, somewhat flattened and turgid._

2. G. obtusa, Trin. Culm stout, 1--2 deg. high, very leafy; leaves long, smooth; _panicle narrowly oblong, dense_ (3--5' long); spikelets 3--7-flowered, 2--3'' long; flowering glume obtuse.--Bogs, E. New Eng. to Penn. and southward, near the coast.

3. G. elongata, Trin. Leaves very long (1 deg. or more), rough; _panicle narrowly racemose, elongated_ (1 deg. long), _recurving_; the branches and 3--4-flowered spikelets _appressed_; flowering glume obtuse.--Wet woods, N. Eng. to Mich., Minn., and northward; Roan Mt., N. C. (_Scribner_). July--Aug.

[+][+][+] _Diffuse; flower-glume truncate-obtuse, strongly 7-nerved; palet 2-toothed._

4. G. nervata, Trin. (FOWL MEADOW-GRASS.) (Pl. 10, fig. 1--3.) Culm erect, 1--3 deg. 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. pallida, Trin. Culms slender, 1--3 deg. 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. grandis, Watson. (REED MEADOW-GRASS.) Culm stout, upright, 3--5 deg. high; leaves large (1--2 deg. long, {1/3}--1/2' 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 (1/2--1' long), pale, appressed on the branches of the long narrow racemose panicle, terete except during anthesis; palets minutely roughish, the upper 2-toothed; squamulae unilateral or united; ligule long; culm flattened (1--5 deg. high), ascending from a rooting base._ (Glyceria, _R. Br._)

7. G. fluitans, R. Br. Panicle 1 deg. 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.

8. G. acutiflora, Torr. Spikelets 5--12-flowered, few and scattered; _flowering glume oblong-lanceolate, acute, shorter than the long tapering point of the palet_.--Wet places, Penn. to Maine; rather rare. June.--Resembles the last; but the erect leaves smaller, the separate flowers twice the length (4'' long), and less nerved.

68. PUCCINELLIA, Parl. (Pl. 16.)

Characters as in Glyceria, but the flowering glumes inconspicuously or obsoletely 5-nerved; squamulae 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. maritima, Parl. (GOOSE-GRASS. SEA SPEAR-GRASS.) _Root stoloniferous_; culms erect, 1--11/2 deg. 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, 11/2'' 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. (?) minor, 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. distans, 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, 1/2--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. FESTUCA, 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. MYURUS, 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. tenella, 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.

[+][+] _Perennial, tufted, 6--24' high; stamens 3._

2. F. ovina, L. (SHEEP'S FESCUE.) Glaucous, 1/2--2 deg. high; leaves mostly radical, very narrow and convolute; panicle somewhat one-sided, short, usually more or less compound, open in flowering; spikelets 3--8-flowered; awn not more than half the length of the flower, often much shorter or almost wanting.--Indigenous in northern New Eng., about Lake Superior, and northward; naturalized farther south as a pasture grass. June.--Varies greatly.--Var. VIVIPARA, L. (which with us has running rootstocks), a state with the spikelets partially converted into leafy shoots, is found on the alpine summits of the White Mts., and high northward.--Var. DURIUSCULA, Koch, is a tall form, with spikelets rather larger, usually in a more compound panicle; culm-leaves often flat or less convolute, and the lower with their sheaths either smooth or hairy. New Eng. to Va., and westward, as a naturalized plant, and indigenous northward. A native form of this variety with a lax panicle, 2--4-flowered spikelets, and slender awns nearly as long as the glume (var. rubra, of last ed.), is found on Keweenaw Peninsula (_Robbins_) and Isle Royale, L. Superior (_Gilman_). (Eu.)

[*][*] _Flowers oblong or lanceolate, awnless or nearly so (11/2--4'' long); grain often free! (Root perennial; culms mostly tall; leaves flat.)_

3. F. nutans, Willd. Culm 2--4 deg. high, naked above; leaves broadly linear, taper-pointed, dark green, often rather hairy; _panicle of several long and slender spreading branches_, mostly in pairs, _drooping_ when old, rough, naked below, bearing near their extremity a few ovate 3--5-flowered spikelets (3'' long) on pretty long pedicels; _flowers ovate-oblong, rather obtuse, close together_, coriaceous, smooth, very obscurely 5-nerved.--Rocky woods and copses. July.--A common form with the panicle more or less contracted and somewhat erect has been distinguished as F. Shortii.

F. ELATIOR, 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 deg. high; spikelets about 6'' long, in an ample and compound panicle. Rich grass-land.--Var. PRATENSIS, Gray (F. pratensis, _Huds._), is lower (1--3 deg. high), with a simpler or close panicle of smaller or narrower spikelets, and abounds in grass-lands. June--Aug. (Nat. from Eu.)

F. GIGANTEA, Vill. Erect, glabrous, 3--4 deg. 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. BROMUS, 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 [Greek: bro/mos], _food_.)

Sec. 1. _Flowering glume oblong, turgid, and convex on the back; the flowers imbricated over one another before expansion; lower empty glume distinctly 3--5-nerved, the upper 5--9-nerved._

[*] _Perennial; indigenous. Lower glume strongly 3-nerved, the upper 5-nerved._

1. B. Kalmii, Gray. (WILD CHESS.) Culm slender (11/2--3 deg. high); leaves and sheaths conspicuously or sparingly hairy; panicle simple, small (3--4' long); spikelets drooping on capillary peduncles, closely 7--12-flowered, densely silky all over; awn only one third the length of the lance-oblong flower; flowering glume 7--9-nerved, much longer and larger than the palet.--Dry ground, N. Eng. to Penn., Mo., Minn., and northward. June, July.

[*][*] _Annuals or biennials, introduced into grain-fields, or rarely in waste grounds._

B. SECALINUS, 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. MOLLIS, 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. RACEMOSUS, L. (UPRIGHT CHESS.) Very similar to the last, but nearly glabrous or the sheaths sometimes hairy; glumes glabrous and shining. (Adv. from Eu.)

Sec. 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 deg. high); flowers oblong or lanceolate._

2. B. ciliatus, L. Panicle compound, very loose, the elongated branches at length divergent, drooping; spikelets 7--12-flowered; flowering glume tipped with an awn 1/2--3/4 its length, silky with appressed hairs near the margins, at least below (or rarely naked), smooth or smoothish on the back;--or, in var. PURGANS, 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. ASPER, 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. STERILIS, 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. TECTORUM, 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. LOLIUM, 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. PERENNE, 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.)