GRASS FAMILY 



163 



1. Lagurus ovatus L. 

 Hare's Tail. Fig. 366. 



Lagurus ovatus L. Sp. PI. 81. 1753. 



Culms branching at the base, 10-30 cm. tall, 

 slender, pubescent ; sheaths and blades pubescent, the 

 ?heaths somewhat inflated, the blades flat and lax ; 

 panicle 2-3 cm. long and nearlj- as thick, pale and 

 downy, bristling with dark awns; glumes very nar- 

 row, 10 mm. long. 



Cultivated for ornament and sparingly escaped; has been 

 found at Pacific Grove, San Francisco, and Berkeley. May- 

 June. Type locality, European. 



33. NOTHOLCUS Xash : Hitchc. in Jepson, Fl. Calif. 1: 126. 1912. 



Spikelets 2-flowered, the pedicel disarticulating below the glumes, the rachilla curved 

 and somewhat elongate below the first floret, not prolonged above the second floret ; glumes 

 about equal, longer than the 2 florets ; first floret perfect, the lemma awnless ; second floret 

 staminate, the lemma bearing on the back a short awn. Perennials with flat blades and 

 contracted panicles. [Greek. false-HoIcus.] 



Species about 8, Europe and Africa, 2 introduced into the United States. Type species, Holcus 

 lanatus L. 

 Rhizomes wanting. 

 Rhizomes present. 





1. JV. lanatus. 



2. N. mollis. 



1. Notholcus lanatus (L.) Nash. 

 Velvet Grass. Fig. 367. 



Holcus lanatus L. Sp. PI. 1048. 1753. 



Notholcus lanatus Nash; Jepson Fl. Calif. 1: 126. 1912. 



Plant grayish, velvety-pubescent ; culms erect, 30-60 

 cm. tall ; panicles 5-10 cm. long, narrow, contracted, 

 sometimes almost spikelike, purple-tinged ; spikelets 

 4 mm. long ; glumes villous, hirsute on the nerves, the 

 second broader than the first, 3-nerved ; lemmas ciliate 

 at the apex ; awn of the second floret hook-like. 



A native of Europe, occasionally cultivated as a meadow 

 grass in the United States, and abundantly introduced or escaped 

 on the Pacific Coast, especially in the Coast Ranges. June-July. 

 Type locality, European. 



2. Notholcus mollis (L.) Hitchc. 

 Creeping Velvet-grass. Fig. 368. 



Holcus mollis L. Syst. Nat. ed. 10. 2: 1305. 1759. 

 Notholcus mollis Hitchc. Am. Journ. Bot. 2: 304. 1915. 



Culms glabrous, 50-100 cm. tall; sheaths 

 glabrous; ligule 2-4 mm.; blades flat, villous 

 or velvety, 5-10 cm. long, 4-6 iniu. wide, the 

 uppermost smaller ; panicle ovate or oblong, 

 rather loose, 6-10 cm. long; glumes 4-5 mm. 

 long, glabrous ; awn of the second floret genie- 

 ulate, exserted, about 3 mm. long. 



Collected at Eureka, California (Tracy). Type lo- 

 cality, European. (A recently introdviced species, that 

 may become common.) 



