47 



and Australia, ^'here it is called Mat-grass, has creeping or ascending flattened 

 stems, rather short leaves, and slend<'r spikes. In some parts of Australia it is 

 hi<Thly esteemed for pasturage, and is said to retain its greenness tbronghout 

 the year in drj^ climates. It is not injured by light frosts. The prostrate stems 

 sometimes attain a length of 5 or (i feet. A closely related 

 species, M. fascicuJata, occurs on tlie lower Rio Grande. 



No. 136. Melinis minutiflora Beanv. Molasses-grass. 



A sweet and highly nutritious species, and the most esteemed 

 of the grasses of central Brazil, where it is native, grow- 

 ing upon the hills and dry lands. It is regaided a most 

 excellent grass for dairy cows, and deserves a trial in the 

 Southern and Southwestern States and California. The 

 Brazilian names for this grass are "Cainm mellado" and 

 "Cajrim gordura." The English name given above is a 

 translation of these. This species occurs also in Ascension 

 Island, Natal, and Madagascar. 



No. 137. Muhleubergia diffusa Schreb. Nimble Will. 



(Fig. 550 

 A low, slender, diffusely branched grass groAviug on dry hills, 



in woods, and especially in shady, 



waste grounds about dwellings. 



The leafy, Aviry stems, which are 



from 6 to 18 inches long, s])ring 



from extensively creeping and 



rather tough rhizomes, which make 



a turf very difficult to break up. 



When young, this grass is readily 



eaten l)y all kinds of stock, but 



after it matures it is so tough that 



few animals will touch it. It pos- 

 sesses really very little agricultural 



value, and some look upon it rather 



as a weed. It is a native from 



southern New England to lowa^ 

 Michigan, and southward, blooming in the latter part of 

 summer. 



No. 138. Muhleubergia distichophylla Kth. Bearded 



Saccaton. 

 This is a strong, tirmly rooted grass, 3 to 4 feet high, with 



rather lonu' and rieid kavos, and a narrow panicle often 



exceeding a foot in length. It is frecjuent in the ricli 



valleys in Arizona and New Mexico, and on rich bottom 



lands it is often cut for hay. It is a coarse grass, like 



SjJoroboliis icrighiii, and by the settlers is classed with 



it imder the general name of Saccaton. In Arizona it 



forms the more common " hay" that one finds in the towns 



and way stations, being pulled by the Mexicans or Indi- 

 ans and brought in on the backs of donkeys or on carts. 



There are many species of Multlenbergia in the south 



western part of the United States and northern Mexico. 



and doubtless many of them are of considerable agricultural value. Muhlenhergia 



rirescens is a soft and leafy species growing in clumps on the higher slopes of the 



mountains in Arizona, and with Foa fendleriana forms the chief herbage of the 



so-called ''deer parks" of the mountains. (Pringle.) 



Fm. 55.— Niiiil)le wm 

 (Muhlenhergia dif- 

 fusa). 



Fig. 56. — Knot root irntsa 

 (Muhlenhergia mexi- 

 cana). 



