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 perennial, 4 to 8 feet high, with long, narrow leaves and a slightly 

 spreading panicle 12 to 36 inches long. It grows in great clumps, jiroducing a 

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

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

 valued for liorses and mules. As a hardy perennial for saline bottoms subject 

 to Hooding 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. Stenotaphrum dimidiatum (Linn.) 



Brongn. St. Augustine-gra.s.s. (Kig. 86.) 



This grass has a wide distribution, being found in 

 the tropical and warmer temperate regions of 

 both the Old and New World. In New South 

 Wales it is known as Buifalo-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 tibrous roots at every joint, where 

 they also readily separate, each piece becoming 

 anew center of growth. The leaves are flat or 

 simply folded, blunt or obtuse at the apex, 

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

 inches long. Tlie Ho weriug 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 ueav the coast. It is useful for 

 holding sloping embankments, especially those 

 subject to wash. It is propagated by cuttings 

 or sets, and quickly eo\ ers the most sandy yards 

 with a dense, carpet like growth. In South 

 America the creeping steins are (Muployed in 

 medicine as a diuretic. This is the Bufl'alo-grass 

 of Australia, and other local names in this coun- 

 try are Mission-grass and Charleston Lawn- 

 grass. 



No. 230. Stipa oomata Trin. & Kupr. Needle-aud-Thread. 



ThLs is one of the bunch grasses common in the Rocky Mountain region, growing 

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

 higli, with a panicle usually partly inclosed in the upper leaf sheath; the slen- 

 der awns of the spikelets are 4 to 6 inches long and llexuose. This grass lias 

 some value, all'ording forage of good (piality in the regions wiiere it grows 

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



No. 231. Stipa elegantissinia Labill. 



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

 and loose panicles 6 to 8 inches long. Tiie axis and long, thread-like branches of 

 the )):iniclc are elegantly plumose with tine, spreading hairs, rendering it 

 highly ornamental. Cultivated in gardens. 



Fig. 85. — Saccaton (Sporobolus 

 wrightii). 



