GRASS FAMILY 



151 



6. Agrostis palustris Huds. 



Redtop. 



Fig. 



333. 



Agrostis palustris Huds. Fl. Angl. 27. 1762. 

 Agrostis alba of authors. A. alba L. is doubtful. 



Culms erect or somewhat decumbent at 

 base, 30-100 cm. tall ; ligule mostly 2-5 mm. 

 long, scabrous ; panicle loose but not diffuse , 

 5-30 cm. long, the lower branches in whorls; 

 glumes acute, 2-3 mm. long, scabrous on keel 

 but not on back ; lemma a little shorter than 

 the glumes, obtuse, rarely awned on back ; 

 palea half to two-thirds as long as lemma. 



Cultivated as a meadow grass and frequently 

 escaped along roadsides and in waste places, at low 

 and intermediate altitudes throughout the United 

 States; apparently not native in America. July- 

 Aug. Type locality: England. 



7. Agrostis maritima Lam. 



Maritime Bent-grass. 



Fig. 334. 



Agrostis maritima Lam. Encycl. 1: 61. 1783. 



Agrostis alba maritima Meyer, Chloris Hanov. 656. 1836. 



Agrostis dcprcssa Vasey, Bull. Torrey Club 13: 54. 1886. 



Agrostis exarata stolonifera Vasey, Bull. Torrev Club 13: 

 54. 1886. 



Differs from Agrostis palustris chiefly in habit; 

 culms decumbent at base, often extensively creep- 

 ing, rooting at the nodes, and with short spread- 

 ing blades ; flowering culms ascending, the blades 

 longer; panicles narrow, the short branches 

 ascending. 



Along the coast of Eurojie and North America; Pacific 

 Coast from British Columbia south to Sonoma County, Cali- 

 fornia. Upon the moist sand dunes the stolons are con- 

 spicuous. July-Aug. Type locality, European. 



8. Agrostis exigua Thurb. 

 Sierra Bent-grass. Fig. 335. 



Agrostis exigua Thurb. in S. Wats. Bot. Calif. 2: 275. 



1880. 



Annual ; culms delicate, 3-10 cm. tall, branching from the 

 base ; blades 5-20 mm. long, sub-involute, scabrous ; panicle 

 half the length of plant, finally open ; glumes 1.5 mm. long, 

 scaberulous ; lemma equaling the glumes, scaberulous toward 

 the summit, bearing below the tip a delicate bent awn 4 times 

 as long ; palea wanting. 



Only known from two collections: "Foothills of the Sierras" (Bo- 

 lander) (the type), and Humboldt Mountain. Kapa County (Tracy). May. 



