I 9Q2] Merrill, — Notes on Sporobolus 47 



SPOROBOLUS brevifolius (Nutt.) Scribn. Mem. Torr. Bot. Club, 5 : 

 39- l8 93- 



Agrostis brevifolia Nutt. Gen. 1 ; 48. 18 18. 



Vilfa cuspidata Torr. in Hook. Fl. l!or. Am. 2 : 238. 1840. 



Vilf a gracilis Trim Agrost. I: 82. 1840, not V. gracilis Trin, 



1. c. 52. 

 Sporobolus cuspidatus Scribn. Bull. Torr. Bot. Club, 10 : 63. 

 1883. 

 There has been much confusion regarding the synonymy of this 

 species owing to the fact that there was some uncertainty as to the 

 identity of Agrostis brevifolia Nutt. Through the courtesy of Mr. 

 Stewardson Brown, curator of the Botanical Section of the Philadel- 

 phia Academy of Natural Sciences, I have been able to examine 

 NuttalPs type of Agrostis brevifolia and find it to be identical with 

 Vilfa .cuspidata Torr., which being a later name becomes a synonym 

 of Sporobolus brevifolius (Nutt.) Scribn. Sporobolus brevifolius Nash, 

 Bull. Torr. Bot. Club. 22: 464. 1895, is Sporobolus richardsonii. 



The type locality of Agrostis brevifolia Nutt. is " Hab. In sterile 

 naked plains and argillaceous soils, near Fort Mandan on the Mis- 

 souri " ; that of Vilfa cuspidata is " Hab. Banks of the Saskatchawan, 

 near the Rocky Mountains, Drummond, Plains of the Red River, 

 Douglas"; while that of Vilfa gracilis Trin. is " Amer. Boreal.? 

 (Hooker)." There is in the U. S. National Herbarium a portion of 

 Trinius's specimen of Vilfa gracilis from the herbarium of the St. 

 Petersburg Academy, which is certainly the same as NuttalPs Agrostis 

 brevifolia. 



The range of this species is in dry open soils from Wisconsin, Iowa, 

 and Nebraska, west to Nevada and Montana. 



Sporobolus filiformis (Thurb.) Rydb. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3 : 

 189. 1895 ! Scribn. U. S. Dept. Agr. Div. Agros. Bull. 17: 173. 

 fig. 469 1899. 



Vilfa depauperata filiformis Thurb. in U. S. Geol. Explor. 40th 



Far. 5: 376. 1871. 



Vilfa gracillima Thurb. in S. Wats. Bot. Calif. 2 : 268. 1S80. 



Sporobolus gracillimus Vasey, Descr. Cat. 44. 1885. 



This species is fairly distinct, presenting intergrading forms with 



Sporobolus simplex Scribn., in general, however, being distinguished 



by its more slender, taller culms and mostly awnless spikelets. Its 



