Vol. XVIII, pp. 143-150 June 9, 1905 



PROCEEDINGS 



OF THE 



BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 



NEW AND INTERESTING AMERICAN GRASSES. 



BY C. V. PIPER. 



Tlic following niisci'llaneoiis descriptions and notes are part 

 of the results of studies incidental to general systematic work 

 upon American grasses during the past year. They are pub- 

 lished at the present time principally Ijecause . the projected 

 monographs of several of the genera have been discontinued by 

 the writer. The types of all the new species are in the National 

 Herbarium . 



Epicampes leptoura sp. nov. 



Habit of E. vigens Benth. Culms rather stout, about a meter high, terete, 

 scabrous, three-jointed. Sheaths smooth, longer than the internodes ; 

 ligule membranous, obtuse or retuse, 2-3 mm. long ; blades very narrow, 

 strongly involute, harshly scabrous, the lower ones 30 to 40 cm., the upper- 

 most about 10 cm. long. Panicle spike-like, erect, narrow, pale, densely 

 flowered, sometimes interrupted below, 10 to 25 cm. long, 5 to 6 mm. 

 thick ; rays closely appressed, the longest 1 cm. long. Empty glumes 

 lanceolate, scabrous on the keels, exceeding the floret, the lower 4 mm. 

 long with an awn 1 mm. long, the upper 3.5 mm. long with a flexuous awn 

 of equal length ; flowering glume minutely scabrous, 2 to 2.5 mm. long, 

 ovate, truncate, three-nerved, bearing a very short awn from the back near 

 the apex ; palet as long or slightly longer, the two nerves meeting at the 

 acute apex. Related to E. rigens Benth, but easily distinguished by the 

 awned glumes. 



Collected by C. H. Townsend and C. M. Barber, in the Sierra Madre 

 near Colonia Garcia, Chihuahua, Mexico, No. 341, September 21, 1899, 

 altitude 7,000 feet (Type). 



24— Proc. Biol. Soc. Wash., Vol. XVIII, 1906. (143) 



