16 



POACEAE. 



1. Panicum geminatum Forsk. WATER 

 GRASS. (Fig. 15.) Aquatic. Culms 2-4 

 long, usually clothed with sheaths below ; leaves 

 glabrous, 10' long or less, 3"-5" wide; racemes 

 10-20, one-sided, the rachis broadly winged, 

 appressed, f'-li' long; spikelets about li" 

 long, ovate, acute, glabrous, singly disposed in 

 2 rows, the first scale broader than long and 

 clasping the spikelet at its base, truncate at 

 the apex, the fourth scale transversely wrinkled. 

 [P. paspaloides Pers.] 



Bermuda, collected only by Moseley. Native. 

 In shallow water, southern United States ; tropical 

 regions of the New World and the Old. Flowers 

 from spring to autumn. Seeds presumably trans- 

 ported by birds. 



2. Panicum barMnode Trin. PARA 

 GRASS. (Fig. 16.) Sterile culms 3-6 long, 

 rooting at the nodes, the fertile ones erect, 

 2-3 tall or more, the nodes densely barbed; 

 leaf-sheaths often overlapping, papillose- 

 hirsute; blades 4 '-12' long, glabrous or 

 pubescent, 3"-8" wide; panicle 6'-8' long, 

 its branches spreading or ascending; spike- 

 lets about li" long, glabrous. 



Abundant In marshes. Naturalized from 

 tropical America. Naturalized also in the 

 southern United States. A very valuable fod- 

 der-grass, often erroneously called Panicum 

 molle, as by Jones. 



3. Panicum capillare L. WITCH 

 GRASS. QUAKING GRASS. (Fig. 17.) 

 Culms l-2 tall, simple, or branched 

 near the base, stout; leaf -sheaths usu- 

 ally purplish, papillose-hirsute; blades 

 3"-8" wide, pubescent; primary pan- 

 icle S'-l long, the larger branches 

 6'-9' long, the lateral panicles smaller ; 

 spikelets very numerous, about 1" 

 long, lanceolate, acuminate, glabrous. 



Waste grounds and cultivated soil. 

 Naturalized. Eastern temperate North 

 America. Its light panicles are widely 

 transported by winds. Flowers in sum- 

 mer and autumn. Regarded as native 

 by Lefroy, but its habitat makes this 

 improbable. [P. 'brevi'folmm of Rein.l 



