GRASS FAMILY 



185 



1. Dissanthelium californicum (Nutt.) 

 Benth. 



California Dissanthelium. Fig. 420. 



Steiiochloa calif oyiiica Nutt. Tourn. Acad. Phila. II. 1: 189. 



1848. 

 Dissanthelium calif onticiim Benth. in Hook. Icon. PL III. 4: 



56. />/. 1375. 1881. 



Culms 60-100 cm. tall, smooth ; leaves smooth ; 

 ligule membranaceous, 2-6 mm. long; blades flat, lax; 

 panicle narrow, loose, 15-20 cm. long, the lower 

 clusters of branches rather remote ; glumes some- 

 what unequal, the second about 4 mm. long; lemmas 

 about 2 mm. long, minutel\- villous, especially below. 



Known only from California (Tassajara Hot Springs, El- 

 mer; San Clemente Island, Trask; Santa Catalina Island, 

 Gambel). Type locality: Santa Catalina Island. 



55. ERAGROSTIS Host, Icon. Gram. Austr. 4: 14. />/. 54. 1809. 



Spikelets few- to many-flowered, the florets usually closely imbricate, the rachilla dis- 

 articulating above the glumes and between the florets, or continuous, the lemmas deciduous, 

 the paleas persistent ; glumes somewhat unequal, shorter than the first lemma, acute or 

 acuminate, 1-nerved; lemmas acute or acuminate, keeled or rounded on the back, 3-nerved, 

 the nerves usually prominent; palea 2-nervcd. the keels sometimes ciliate. Annual or 

 perennial grasses of various habit, the inflorescence an open or contracted panicle. [Greek, 

 love-grass.] 



Species more than 100, tropical and temperate regions of the world. Type species, Briza eragrostis L. 



Plants perennial. 1- E. secundiflora. 



Plants annual. 



Spikelets unisexual; plants dioecious or polygamous. 2. E. hypiioidcs. 



Spikelets perfect. 



Plants with minute glands on the foliage, panicle branches or keels of lemmas. 



Panicle branches appressed, spikelets about 1.5 mm. wide, not glandular. 8. E. lutescens. 



Panicle branches more or less spreading; spikelets 2 mm. or more wide; lemmas usually with one or 

 two glands on the keel. 

 Spikelets about 2 mm. wide. 7. E. eragrostis. 



Spikelets 3-4 mm. wide. 3. E. cilianensis. 



Plants not glandular. 



Panicle pilose in the lower axils; pedicels appressed. 4. E. caroliniana. 



Panicle glabrous in the axils; pedicels ascending, somewhat flexuous. 



Pedicels and branchlets noticeably flexuous; spikelets linear, about 1 mm. wide; panicle large 



and open. 5. E. orcuttiana. 



Pedicels and branchlets not flexuous or only slightly so; spikelets more than 1 mm. wide; 

 panicle large or contracted. 6. E. me.vicana. 



1. Eragrostis secundiflora Presl. 

 Sand Eragrostis. Fig. 421. 



Eragrostis secundiflora Presl. Rel. Haenk. 1: 276. 1830. 

 Poa ivterrupta Nutt. Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. II. 5: 146. 1837, 



not Lam. 1791. 

 Poa o.vvlctis Torr. in Marcy, Expl. Red Riv. 301. />/. 19. 1853. 

 Eragrostis o.rylepis Torr. U. S. Rep. Expl. Miss. Pacif. 4: 



156. 1857. 



Perennial; culms erect or decumbent at base, stiff. 

 30-60 cm. tall ; sheaths pilose at the throat ; panicles 

 narrow, the branches ascending, compactly flowered, 

 approximate or more or less remote ; spikelets many- 

 flowered, the florets closely imbricate, usually tinged 

 with red ; glumes 1-nerved, the second 2 mm. long ; 

 lemmas prominently 3-nerved, scabrous on keel, broad 

 at base, the acuminate apex somewhat divergent. 



Sandy nrairies, Kansas to Florida and Mexico and west to 

 southern California (San Diego, Orcutt). August. Type lo- 

 cality: .Mexico. 



