zoo 



GRAMINEAE. 



VOL. I. 



17. Sporobolus texanus Yasey. Texas Drop- 

 seed. Fig. 480. 



S. texanus Vasey, Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 1:57. 1890. 



Culms i-2 tall, branching below; sheaths 

 crowded, the lower ones papillose-hirsute; blades 

 erect, firm, ii'-6' long, i^"-2i" wide, smooth be- 

 neath, very rough above; panicle included at the 

 base, the upper branches finally widely spreading, 

 2'-4' long; spikelets a little exceeding i" long, on 

 long slender pedicels ; scales smooth and glabrous, 

 the first scale narrow, acuminate, less than -h as long 

 as the second which equals the third scale. 



In dry places, Kansas to Mexico. July-Sept. 



18. Sporobolus Torreyanus (Schultes) Nash. 

 Flat-stemmed Dropseed. Fig. 481. 



Agrostis comprcssa Torr. Cat. PI. N. Y. 91. 1819. Not 



Willd. 1790. 



A. Torreyana Schult. Mant. 2: 203. 1824. 

 Sporobolus compressus Kunth, Enum. i : 217. 1830. 

 Sporobolus Torreyanus Nash, in Britt. Man. 107. 1901. 



Culms i-2 tall, from a horizontal rootstock, stout, 

 simple, much compressed, smooth and glabrous. Sheaths 

 compressed, overlapping, sometimes scabrous at the sum- 

 mit; ligule very short; blades s'-io' long, i" wide or less, 

 folded, slightly rough ; panicle 4'-io' in length, the 

 branches erect or ascending, the lower 2,' -3' long; spike- 

 lets about I" long; outer scales subequal, obtuse or some- 

 what acute, smooth and glabrous; third scale obtuse and 

 apiculate, strongly scabrous, slightly exceeding the outer 

 ones. 



In bogs, Long Island and in the pine barrens of New 

 Jersey. Sept.-Oct. 



19. Sporobolus asperifolius (Nees & Meyen) Thurber. 



Dropseed. Fig. 482. 



Rough-leaved 



Vilfa asperifolia Nees & Meyen ; Trin. Mem. Acad. St. 



Petersb. (VI.) 6: 95. 1840. 

 S. asperifolius Thurber; S. Wats. Bot. Cal. 2: 269. 1880. 



Culms 6'- 1 8' tall, erect from a decumbent and 

 branched base, smooth and glabrous. Sheaths short, 

 crowded and overlapping, the upper usually enclosing 

 the base of the panicle ; ligule i" long, erose-truncate ; 

 blades numerous, i'-35' long, i"-i4" wide at the base, 

 acuminate, strict, often erect, flat, glabrous, smooth 

 beneath, very rough above ; panicle 3 '-8' in length, in- 

 cluded at the base, rarely entirely exserted, the capillary 

 branches spreading or ascending, the lower 2' -4' long; 

 spikelets occasionally 2-3-flowered, f" long; outer scales 

 subequal, acute, glabrous, sparingly scabrous ; third 

 scale obtuse or acute, glabrous, somewhat exceeding the 

 second. 



Dry soil, Saskatchewan to British Columbia, south to 

 Missouri and Mexico. Aug.-Sept. 



