GRASS FAMILY 



123 



8. Phalaris caroliniana \\'alt. 

 Carolina Canary-grass. Fig. 259. 



Phalaris caroliiiiaua Walt. FI. Carol. 74. 1788. 



Annual ; culms erect, 30-60 cm. tall ; panicle 

 oblong, 2.5-5 cm. long ; glumes 5-6 mm. long, oblong, 

 rather abruptly narrowed to an acute apex, the 

 keel scabrous and narrowly winged above from 

 below the middle, the lateral nerves about midway 

 between keel and margin ; fertile lemma ovate, 

 acute, densely villous, about 4 mm. long, the close- 

 appressed sterile lemmas about one-third as long. 



A native of the southeastern States; introduced in Ore- 

 gon (Grants Pass) and California. Mar. -May. Type lo- 

 cality: South Carolina. 



9. Phalaris angusta Nees. 



Narrow Canary-grass. 



Fig. 



260. 



Phalaris angusta Nees; Trin. Gram. Icon. 1: pi. 78. 1827. 

 Phalaris intermedia angusta Chapm. Fl. South. U. S. 568. 

 1860. 



Annual; 1-1.5 meters tall, smooth; blades flat, 

 6-8 mm. wide ; panicle dense, linear-oblong, 5-12 

 cm. long, about 8 mm. thick; glumes about 4 mm. 

 long, narrow, rounded at apex to a rtiucronate tip, 

 scabrous on keel, nerves, and more or less on the 

 liack. especially near the apex, lateral nerves near 

 the margin ; fertile lemma ovate-lanceolate, acute, vil- 

 lous, 3 mm. long, sterile lemmas about half as long. 



Open ground at low altitudes, California from San Fran- 

 cisco southward, and east to Louisiana; also in South 

 America. Apr. -June. Type locality: Uruguay. 



14. ANTHOXANTHUM L. Sp. PI. 28. 1753. 



Spikelets with 1 terminal perfect floret and 2 lateral sterile lemmas, the rachilla dis- 

 articulating above the glumes ; unequal, acute or mucronate ; sterile lemmas shorter 

 than the glumes, empty, awned from the back ; fertile lemma shorter than the sterile ones, 

 awnless ; palea 1-nerved, rounded on the back, inclosed in the lemma. Sweet-smelling 

 annual or perennial grasses with flat blades and spikelike panicles. [Greek, flower-yellow.j 



Species about 4, Europe and Asia, 2 introduced in the United States. Type species, Antho.vanthum 

 odoratiim L. 



1. Anthoxanthum odoratum L. 

 Sweet Vernal Grass. Fig. 261. 



Anthoxanthum odoratum L. Sp. PI. 28. 1753. 



Perennial ; culms slender, erect, 20-60 cm. tall, 

 panicle 2-7 cm. long, pointed; spikelets brownish 

 green, 8-10 mm. long ; glumes sparsely pilose ; 

 first sterile lemma short-awned below the apex, 

 the second bearing a strong, bent, scarcely ex- 

 serted awn near its base. 



Occasionally cultivated in the United States as a 

 meadow grass and escaped or introduced in the cooler 

 parts of the country. Washington to California. May- 

 June. Type locality, European. 



