HOW TO KNOW THE GRASSES 



54b. Glumes less than 2/3 as long as the entire spikelet; spikelets 

 narrow, cylindrical. Fig. 87. 



Melica poTieri Scribn. 



Perennial; tufted; 50 — 100 cm. tall; in- 

 florescences slender and raceme-like, 15 

 — 20 cm. long, the branches ascending; 

 spikelets mostly drooping to one side; 

 pedicels hairy; sheaths smooth or scabrous, 

 with united edges; leaf blades 2 — 5 mm. 

 wide; spikelets green or brownish, not 

 purple, 10 — 15 mm. long, with 4 — 5 florets; 

 lemmas strongly-nerved, minutely scab- 

 rous. Open woods and slopes, moist 

 ground; 2000 — 3000 m. elevation. Midsum- 

 mer — October. 



Var. laxa Boyle has spreading panicle 

 branches 4 — 9 cm. long; glumes sometimes 

 purple. Western Texas (Chisos Mts.) to 

 Arizona. 



Figure 87 



55a. Rudiment placed obliquely at the end of the rachilla; tips of fer- 

 tile florets at the same height. Fig. 88. 



Melica znuiica Walt. 



Perennial; tufted; plants 60 — 100 cm. 

 tall; panicles 10 — 20 cm. long, with a 

 few simple spreading branches bearing 

 drooping spikelets. Sheaths hairy or 

 scabrous; leaf blades 2 — 5 mm. wide. 

 Spikelets fan-shaped, 7 — 10 mm. long, 

 usually with 2 fertile florets and a bell- 

 shaped rudiment, tilteji sideways, at 

 the end of the rachilla. This species, 

 while seldom occurring in large stands, 

 is the most widespread of the eastern 

 Melica species. It grows in scattered 

 stands in rocky woods. April — June. 

 The name Melica refers to honey, but 

 we do not know why Linnaeus appHed 

 it to this genus. 



Figure 88 ^ 



48 



