501 
thin herbaceous, silky-pubescent, acute or acuminate; floral glumes 
of perfect floret shorter, coriaceous or chartaceous, obtuse or mucro- 
nate; palet like the glume in texture; imperfect floret, when present, 
consisting of a thin glume, staminate or neutral. 
1. E. sericea Munro. Perennial: culms simple, erect 6 to 10 dm. high: leaves 
narrow, 2 to 3 dim. long, softly pubescent: panicle slender, 1 to 2 dm, long, of 6 to 
10 appressed, close-flowered branches, about equaling the intervals, with a tuft of 
persistent hairs at the base of each spikelet: spikelets 3 to 4 mm. long, 1-flowered ; 
floral glume mucronate.—Dry prairies, central Texas. 
2. E. punctata (L.) Hamil. Culmsascending or erect, branched below, 6 to 10dm, 
high: leaves 5 to 10 mn, wide: panicle about 1 dm, long, of & to 10 spikes gener- 
ally exceeding the internodes; rachis glabrous: spikelets short-pedicelled, 4 to 5 
min. long; tloral glumes one-third shorter than the empty glumes, all awn-pointed.— 
Dry prairies throughout the State and westward to California, Var. MINOR Vasey is 
smaller than the species, with short branches in the panicle and smaller spikelets (2 
to 3 mmm. long), the floral glume nearly equaling the empty ones, all merely mucron- 
ate.—Western Texas to New Mexico. 
16. PANICUM L. (PANIC-GRASS.) 
Inflorescence spicate or paniculate: spikelets with one terminal 
perfect floret and a second one staminate or rudimentary, awnless 
except in §3: empty glumes 35 (rarely 2), thin, membranaceous or 
herbaceous; the outer one small, often minute, rarely wanting; the 
second and third alike in size, texture and apparent position, equaling 
or exceeding the floret (the third glume really the floral glume of 
the imperfect floret, but for convenience commonly mentioned in 
connection with the second empty glume); glume and palet of per- 
fect floret usually coriaceous, obtuse or subacute; second or lower 
floret represented by the third glume either empty or with palet and 
stainens.—The largest genus of grasses in Texas and having a larger 
number of species there than in all North America beside. 
§1. Panicle of several unilateral spkelike branches, digitate or approximate at the 
summit of the culm: spikelets usually small, in pairs, one sessile, the other short pedi- 
celled outer empty glume minute or wanting.—DIGITARLA, 
* Rachis flat or winged: leaves lanceolate. 
1. P. sanguinale L. (Cran-crass.) Culins3 to 8 din, high, erect or decumbent: 
spikes 3 to 10, spreading, about 1 din. long; rachis flat: spikelets lance-oblong, 
acute, about 3mm, long; first glume minute; second pubescent, about two-thirds 
as long as the floret; third equaling the acute floret.—Naturalized everywhere. 
2. P. serotinum Trin. (CREEPING CRAB-GRASS.) Culms 1 to 3 dm. high from a 
decumbent or extensively creeping base: leaves short (1 to3em. long): spikes 3 to 6, 
approximate, spreading, 3 to 8 cm. long; rachis wing-margined: spikelets acute at 
base and apex; outer glumes 2; the lower one less than one-half as long as the floret; 
the second nearly equaling it.—In moist soil, almost forming a sod. 
** Rachis nearly filiform: leaves narrow. 
3. P. filiforme L. (SLENDER CRAB-GRASS.) Culinsd to8dm. high, very slender but 
rather rigid, simple or sparingly branched: spikes 2 to 8, approximate, rarely digi- 
tate, 1 to 2 dm.long: spikelets about 2 min. long; outer glumes 2, ciliate margined, 
nearly equaling the dark brown acute floret.—Sandy or gravelly soil. 
11874—No. 3 11 
