MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



179 



6 mm wide; panicle narrow, pale, 10 to 25 cm long, somewhat inter- 

 rupted, the branches appressed; spikelets somewhat compressed, 4- 

 to 8-flowered, 1 to 1.5 cm long; glumes 5 and 



7 mm long, acute; lemmas of pistillate spike- 

 lets closely imbricate and appressed, about 8 

 mm long with 3 strong nerves, the inter- 

 mediate nerves 'obscure, acute, the margins 

 broad, hyaline; palea of pistillate spikelets 

 shorter than the lemma, strongly bowed out 

 below, closely convolute around the pistil, the 

 keels with narrow erose or toothed wings; 

 lemmas of staminate spikelets more spreading, about 6 mm long; 



palea about as 



long as the 



lemma, not 



\{ : f'\jf a bowed out, not 



Figure 352.— Distribution of 

 Distichlis stricta. 



I I 



Figure 354. — Distribution of 

 Distichlis dentata. 



Figure 353.— Distichlis dentata. Panicle, 

 X 1; floret, X 5. (Dupl. type.) 



convolute, the 



keels minutely 



scabrous, not 



winged ; anthers 



3 mm long. % 



— Sand flats, Presidio, Tex., and 



northern Mexico. 



20. UNIOLA L. 



Spikelets 3- to many-flowered, the 

 lower 1 to 4 lemmas 

 empty, the rachilia 

 disarticulating above 

 the glumes and be- 

 tween the florets; 

 glumes compressed- 

 keeled, rigid, usually narrow, 3- to 7-nerved, acute 

 or acuminate, rarely mucronate ; lemmas compressed, 

 sometimes conspicuously flattened, chartaceous, 

 many-nerved, the nerves sometimes obscure, acute 

 or acuminate, the empty ones at the base and the 

 uppermost usually reduced; palea rigid, strongly 

 keeled, bowed out at base, weakly so in Uniola pan- 

 iculata. Rather tall, erect perennials, with flat or 

 sometimes convolute blades and narrow or open 

 panicles of compressed, sometimes very broad and 

 flat spikelets. Type species, Uniola paniculata. 

 Ancient Latin name of a plant. 



The inland species are not abundant enough to be 

 of value for forage. Uniola latijolia is worthy of cul- 

 tivation as an ornamental; U. paniculata is a sand 

 binder along the southern seacoast; the seeds of U. 

 palmeri Vasey of Mexico are used for food by the 

 Cocopa Indians. 



Rhizomes extensively creeping; blades firm, flat at base, taper- 

 ing into a long flexuous involute point; empty lemmas about 4; coastal dunes. 



1. U. PANICULATA. 



Figure 355.— Distichlis 

 texana. Panicle, X 

 1; lemma and palea, 

 X 5. (Nealley, Tex.) 



