MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 647 



benching from the base and lower nodes, forming dense cushions as 

 much as 50 cm across. % — Open sandy soil in low pine land 

 North Carolina to Florida and Mississippi; Isla de Pinos (fig. 1415). 



82. Panicum glabrifolium Nash. (Fig. 1416.) Vernal phase 

 similar to that of P. chamaelonche; culms stouter, 15 to 50 cm tall, 

 mostly erect; blades erect, 4 to 12 cm long, 2 to 4 mm wide, usually 

 involute; panicle 4 to 9 cm long; spikelets 1.2 to 1.4 mm long, gla- 

 brous. Autumnal culms wiry, elongate, spreading, freely branching 

 from the middle and upper nodes, the blades long and narrow. 01 

 — Low sandy woods, peninsular Florida. Closely allied to P. chamae- 

 lonche but taller and with different autumnal phase. 



83. Panicum breve Hitchc. and Chase. (Fig. 1417.) Vernal 

 phase purplish; culms 5 to 15 cm tall, erect, stiff and wiry; sheaths 



Figure 1416.— Pan ic um 

 glabrifolium. Two views 

 of spikelet, and floret, X 10. 

 (Type.) 



Figure 1415.— Distribution of 

 Panicum chamaelonche. 



Figure 1417. — Panicum 

 breve. Two views of 

 spikelet, and floret, 

 X 10. (Type.) 



crowded at the base ; blades erect, 3 to 6 cm. long, strongly involute, 

 with a few stiff hairs at the base; panicle 1.5 to 4 cm long; spikelets 

 1.3 to 1.4 mm long, puberulent. Autumnal phase erect, branching 

 from the middle nodes, the fascicled branches strict. % — Low 

 pine woods and hammocks, east coast of southern Florida. 

 12. Lancearia. — Olive green, often purplish; vernal culms usually 



why; ligules nearly obsolete; blades usually ciliate toward base; 



spikelets asymmetrically pyriform, strongly 7- to 9-nerved. 



Autumnal culms spreading, freely branching. 

 84. Panicum portoricense Desv. (Fig. 1418.) Vernal culms 15 to 

 30 cm tall, slender; crisp-puberulent to nearly glabrous; sheaths 



Figure 1418.— Panicum portoricense. 

 Two views of spikelet, and floret, 

 X 10. (Ashe, N.C.) 



Figure 1419.— Distribution of 

 Panicum portoricense. 



glabrous or crisp-puberulent; blades firm, 2 to 5 cm long, 3 to 6 mm 

 wide, glabrous to puberulent; panicle 2 to 4 cm long; spikelets 1.5 to 

 1.6 mm long, puberulent. Autumnal culms branching from all but 

 the uppermost node, the reduced blades involute-pointed. % (P. 

 pauciciliatum Ashe.) — Sandy woods of the Coastal Plain, mostly in 

 moist places, North Carolina to Florida and Texas; Cuba; Puerto 

 Rico (fig. 1419). 



85. Panicum lancearium Trim (Fig. 1420.) Vernal culms 20 to 

 50 cm tall, minutely grayish crisp-puberulent; sheaths puberulent; 

 blades firm, 2 to 6 cm long, 3 to 7 mm wide, usually glabrous on the 

 upper surface, puberulent or nearly glabrous beneath; panicle 3 to 6 

 cm long; spikelets 2 to 2.1 mm long, glabrous or usually puberulent. 



