GENUS 17. 



GRASS FAMILY. 



161 



71. Panicum Ashei Pearson. Ashe's Panic- 

 grass. Fig. 381. 



P. Ashei Pearson, Journ. E. Mitch. Sci. Soc. 15 : 35. 



1898. 



Culms tufted, 8'-i6' tall, erect, usually sparingly 

 branched, rarely much-branched and prostrate, pu- 

 berulent; sheaths puberulent, usually less than \ as 

 long as the internodes, ciliate on the margin ; blades 

 2'-3' long, rarely longer, 3"-5" wide, occasionally 

 broader, somewhat cordate at the base, erect or 

 ascending, sometimes spreading, lanceolate, sparsely 

 ciliate at the base with long hairs ; panicle 2'-$' long, 

 its branches ascending; spikelets about li" long and 

 i" wide, elliptic, obtuse, pubescent with rather long 

 weak hairs. 



In dry woods, Massachusetts to Michigan, south to 

 Florida, Mississippi and Missouri. May-Aug. 



72. Panicum commutatum Schultes. Variable 

 Panic-grass. Fig. 382. 



P. nervosum Muhl. Gram. 116. 1817? Not Lam. 1797. 

 Panicum commutatum Schultes, Mant. 2: 242. 1824. 



Culms erect, i6'-2i tall, rather slender, glabrous, 

 puberulent at the nodes, simple, finally dichotomously 

 branched above. Sheaths ciliate on the margin, and 

 pubescent at the apex, otherwise glabrous ; blades 

 spreading or ascending, cordate and clasping at the 

 base, 2'-$' long, i'-i' wide, ciliate at the base, glabrous 

 or puberulent, those of the branches generally broader 

 and more crowded than those of the main stem; panicle 

 2'-s' long, lax, the branches spreading; spikelets li" to 

 nearly \\" long, elliptic; second and third scales equal, 

 7-nerved, pubescent ; fourth scale oval, obtuse, apiculate, 

 about i" long. 



In dry woods and thickets, Massachusetts to Missouri, 

 Florida and Texas. June-Aug. 



Panicum Joorii Vasey, of the southeastern states and 

 Mexico, differs by decumbent culms, leaves scarcely cor- 

 date and unsymmetrical, ranges north to Virginia. 



73. Panicum mutabile Scribn. & Sm. Tall 

 Fringed Panic-grass. Fig. 383. 



P. mutabile Scribn. & Sm. ; Nash, in Small, Fl. SE. 

 U. S. 103. 1907. 



Culms tufted, i6'-3 tall, glabrous or minutely 

 puberulent below ; sheaths glabrous, excepting the 

 ciliate margin; blades 2i'-s' long, io"-2o" wide, 

 horizontally spreading, conspicuously ciliate, espe- 

 cially the broader ones at the base, glabrous on the 

 surfaces ; panicle 3'-6' long and nearly as wide ; 

 spikelets about ij" long, elliptic, pubescent, the first 

 scale J--J as long as the spikelet. 



In sandy soil, southeastern Virginia to Florida and 

 Mississippi. June and July. 



