GRAMINEAE. 



VOL. I. 



i. Brachyelytrum erectum (Schreb.) Beauv. 

 Bearded Short-husk. Fig. 454. 



Muhlenbergia erecta Schreb. Besch. Gras. 2: 139. pi. 



50. 1772-9- 



Brachyelytrum erectum Beauv. Agrost. 155. 1812. 

 Brachyelytrum aristatum R. & S. Syst. 2: 413. 1817. 

 Brachyelytrum aristatum var. Engehnanni A. Gray, Man. 



Ed. 5, 614. 1867. 



Culms i-3 tall, erect, slender, simple, smooth or 

 rough, pubescent at and near the nodes. Sheaths 

 shorter than the internodes, scabrous toward the 

 apex, more or less villous especially at the throat ; 

 ligule about I" long, irregularly truncate ; leaves 2'-$' 

 long, 3 "-9" wide, acuminate at both ends, scabrous ; 

 panicle 2'-6' in length, slender, branches i'-3' long, 

 erect or appressed ; outer scales of the spikelet un- 

 equal, the upper less than one-third as long as the 

 flowering scale, the lower minute or wanting; third 

 scale, exclusive of the awn, 4i"-6" long, 5-nerved, 

 scabrous, especially on the midnerve, the awn erect, 

 9"-i2" long; rachilla produced beyond the flower 

 about half the length of the third scale and lying in 

 the groove of the palet. 



Moist places, Newfoundland to Minnesota, south to Georgia and Kansas. Ascends to 5000 ft. 

 in North Carolina. July-Aug. 



36. HELEOCHLOA Host, Gram, i : 23. pi 29, 50. 1801. 



[CRYPSIS Lam. Tabl. Encycl. i : 166. 1791. Not Ait. 1789.] 



Perennial tufted grasses with flat leaves and spicate or paniculate inflorescence. Spike- 

 lets i-flowered. Scales 3; the 2 outer empty, somewhat unequal, membranous, acute, ciliate- 

 keeled; the third scale similar, a little longer; palet shorter, hyaline, 2-nerved. Stamens 3. 

 Styles distinct. Stigmas plumose. Grain oblong, free, loosely enclosed in the scale. [Greek. 

 signifying meadow-grass.] 



About 8 species, chiefly natives of the Mediterranean region, one or two also widely distributed 

 through middle Europe and Asia. Type species : Heleochloa alopecuroides Host. 



i. Heleochloa schoenoides (L.) Host. Rush- 

 like Timothy; Rush Cat's-tail Grass. Fig. 455. 



Phleum schoenoides L. Sp. PI. 60. 1753. 



Crypsis schoenoides Lam. Tabl. Encyl. I : 166. pi. 42. 1791. 



Heleochloa schoenoides Host, Gram, i : 23. pi. 30. 1801. 



Glabrous, culms 4'-i8' tall, erect or sometimes decum- 

 bent at the base, branched, smooth. Sheaths about half 

 the length of the internodes, the upper loose, the one 

 immediately below the spike inflated and usually par- 

 tially enclosing it ; ligule a ring of short hairs ; leaves 

 i' 3' long, i"-2" wide, flat, acuminate, smooth beneath, 

 scabrous above; spikelets li" long, the empty scales 

 acute, compressed, ciliate-keeled, i-nerved, the lower 

 shorter than the upper; third scale equalling or longer 

 than the second, acute, compressed, ciliate-keeled, 

 otherwise glabrous, i-nerved; palet shorter, obtuse. 



In waste places, southern New York to Delaware and 

 Pennsylvania. Naturalized from Europe. July-Aug. 



37. PHLEUM L. Sp. PI. 59. 1753. 

 Annual or perennial grasses with flat leaf-blades and spicate inflorescence. Spikelets 

 l-flowered. Scales 3 ; the 2 outer empty, membranous, compressed, keeled, the apex obliquely 

 truncate, the midnerve produced into an awn ; the third scale much shorter, broader, hyaline, 

 truncate, denticulate at the summit; palet narrow, hyaline. Stamens 3. Styles distinct, 

 somewhat elongated. Stigmas plumose. Grain ovoid, free, enclosed in the scale and palet. 

 [Name Greek, taken from Pliny; originally applied to some very different plant.] 



About 10 species, inhabiting the temperate zones of both hemispheres. The following only 

 are natives of North America. The English name Cat's-tail Grass is applied to all the species. 

 Type species : Phleum pratense L. 



