72 



The grass will grow ou almost any kind of soil, from that whith is poor and 

 sandy or gravelly to heavy calcareous and clayey soils. It thrives in the dry 

 and hot climates of northern Africa, where many millions of acres are covered 

 almost exclusively with it. This grass is extensively cultivated in the south of 

 France, and possibly its introduction into some of our Southwestern districts 

 may render profitable, regions now practically worthless. It may be propagated 

 by seeds or by divisions of the root. The latter is the more common method. 

 This and Lygeum spartum constitute the Esparto of commerce. 



No. 237. Stipa vaseyi Scribu. Sleepy-grass. 



A stout bunch-grass 3 to 5 feet high, which grows in the Rocky Mountains at an 

 altitude of from 5,000 to 6,000 feet. This grass, although producing a large bulk 

 of stems and leaves, is regarded with suspicion by stockmen. It is said that 



when this grass is eaten in a fresh state by 

 horses it has a narcotic or i)oisonous oftVct, 

 causing the animals to become crazed or 

 "locoed," its action thus resembling that of 

 the deadly loco weed {AfttraijaJus moJUssimus). 

 Hay made from this grass does not appar- 

 ently possess any poisonous qualities. 



No. 238. Stipa viridula Trin. Feather Bunch- 

 grass. (Fig. 87.) 



A rather slender grass, 1 to 3 feet high, growing 

 in the Rocky Mountain region and on the 

 foothills and mesas, from British Columbia 

 southward to Mexico and westward to the 

 coast On good land, under irrigation, this 

 grass attains the height of 3 feet or more, 

 and is by far the most valuable of the Stipas 

 for hay. The leafy culms are terminated by 

 a narrow, many-flowered panicle of compar- 

 atively small and rather short-awned spike- 

 lets. The seed may be easily gathered. The 

 callus at the base of the fruiting glume is 

 short and barely pointed and not produced 

 into a long, very sharp, spur-like extension, 

 as in Porcupine-grass. 



No. 239. Thuarea sarmentosa Pers. 



A low, extensively creeping grass, rooting at the 

 joints, with ascending flowering branches, 

 short leaves, and slender spikes about an inch 

 A native of Ceylon, northern Australia, etc., growing on the sands of 

 the coast. It is a tender grass, and may be useful in binding coast sands in 

 tropical countries or in the formation of lawns. 



No. 240. Trichloris blanchardiana Scribn. 



A perennial, H to 3 feet high, with flat leaves, and six to eighteen slender, bearded 

 spikes, which are 2 to 5 inches bmg, digitate or fasciculate at the apex of the 

 culm. It has long been known to florists under the name of Chlorojish hlaiich- 

 ardiaiia, and is esteemed as an oruauu'utal grass, its attractive appearance mak- 

 ing it worthy of attention 

 South America. 



Fig. 87.— Feather Buncb-grass (Stipa 

 viridula). 



long. 



It grows in Arizona and Mexico, extending into 



No. 241. Tricholaena rosea Neos. 



A South African annual (?), with diffusely branching stems 2 to I feet high. The 

 spikelets are in loose panicles, and clothed with reddish, silky hairs. It pre- 



