HOW TO KNOW THE GRASSES 



123b. Leai blades glabrous; ligules oi culm leaves 2— A mm. long. 

 Fig. 158. 



Poa epilis Scribn. 



Figure 158 



Perennial; culms in small tufts; plants 

 20 — 40 cm. tall; leaf blades of the culms 

 short, flat, 2 — 3 mm. wide, their Ugules 

 2 — 4 mm. long; basal leaves long, folded 

 or rolled; panicles on long, thin peduncles; 

 panicles short, dense, oblong, 2 — 6 cm. 

 long; spikelets about 5 mm. long, usually 

 with 3 florets; lemmas 4 — 6 mm. long, some- 

 times scaberulous. Poa epilis, sometimes 

 called "skyline bluegrass," is an important 

 high altitude forage grass, usually found 

 above timberline on steep slopes and in 

 mountain meadows. July — August. 



About five similar species are to be 

 found at high altitudes in the western 

 mountains, mostly above timberhne. They 

 are all dwarf, rarely more than 20 cm. tall. 



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