70 



alkaline or saline soils, yielding a liberal supply of fodder where other plants are 

 unable to exist. 



No. 228. Sporobolus -wrightii Munro. Saccaton. (Fig. 85.) 



A stout, erect pereuuial, 4 to 8 feet hisb, with long, narrow leaves and a slightly 

 spreading jiauicle 12 to 30 inches long. It grows in great clumps, producing a 

 large quantity of coarse, tough sterns and leaves, which, however, in the regions 

 where this grass is native — Arizona and New Mexico— yield a hay which is 

 valued for hor-ses and mules. As a hardy perennial for saline bottoms subject 

 to flooding or incapable of cultivation, this species deserves notice. The Indians 

 and Mexicans of Arizona and Lower California call all hay grasses "zacate," 

 without any distinction between the species. 



No. 229. Steuotaphrum dimidiatum TLinn.) 

 Brougu. .St. .A.ugnstine-grass. (Fig. >;6.j 



This grass has a wide distribution, being found in 

 the tropical and warmer temperate regions of 

 both the Old and New World. lu New South 

 Wales it is known as Buti'alo-grass, and in 

 Jamaica it is called Pimento-grass. It grows 

 upon every variety of soil, from the apparently 

 sterile sand dunes to heavy clays, but is rarely 

 found far away from the coast. The flattened 

 stems emit ribrous roots at every Joint, where 

 they also readily separate, each piece becoming 

 a new center of growth. The leaves are flat or 

 simply folded, blunt or obtuse at the apex, 

 nearly one-fourth of an inch broad and 4 to 10 

 inches long. The flowering stems grow to the 

 height of 6 inches to a foot or more. St. Au- 

 gustine-grass grows along our ocean shores as 

 far north as South Carolina, and is extensively 

 used for lawns in Charleston, S. C, and cities 

 in the South near the coast. It is useful for 

 holding sloping embankments, especially those 

 subject to wash. It is jiropagated by cuttings 

 ox sets, and ([uickly covers the most sandy yards 

 with a dense, carpet like growth. In Soutli 

 America the creeping stems are employed iu 

 medicineas a diuretic. This is the Butfalo-grass 

 of Australia, and other local names in this coun- 

 try are Mission-grass and Charleston Lawn- 

 •nass. 



Fig. 85. — Saccaton (Sporoboliis 

 wrightii). 



No. 230. Stipa comata Trin. & Kupr. Needle-and-Thread. 



This is one of the bunch grnsses common in the Rocky Mountain region, growing 

 on the dry mesas and foothills. It is a rather stout, leafy perennial, 1 to 3 feet 

 high, with a panicle usually partly iuclosed in the upi)er leaf sheath; the slen- 

 der awns of the spikelets are 4 to (J inches long and llexuose. This gr.iss h;is 

 some value, affording forage of good ([iKility in the regions where it grows 

 abundantly. In Dakota, Wyoming, etc., it is valued as a hay grass. 



No. 231. Stipa elegautissinia l.abill. 



A native of Australia, with erect, branching stems 2 to 3 feet high, narrow lenves, 

 and loose panicles G toH inches long. The axis and long, thread-like branches of 

 the panicle are elegantly plumose with tine, spreading hairs, rendering it 

 highly ornamental. Cultivated in gardens. 



