30 



IV. ZERNA Panz. emend. 



Nearly all native short-lived perennials, vith but few exceptions, hairing a iveak drooping 

 panicle and more or less jmbescent flowering glumes, frequently with tlie pubescence unevenly 



distributed. 



A. Panicle lax and drooping. 



15. BROMTJS RAMOSTJS Hurls. Fl. Angl. ed. 1. 40. 1762. Bromus asper Murr. 

 Prod. Stirp. G6tt. 42. 1770. (Fig. 15.) 



A rather stout, erect, loosely csespitose 

 perennialwith a rather long, loose, 

 nodding panicle. Culms about 

 10-15 dm. high, smooth or slightly 

 rough pubescent just below the 

 nodes, rather slender. Sheaths 

 shorter than the internodes, clothed 

 vith abundant, rather stiff subretrorse 

 hairs; ligule about 2 mm. long, laci- 

 niate; blades broadly linear, about 

 2-3 dm. long and 8-12 nun. wide, 

 sparsely pilose on the nerves be- 

 neath, harshly scabrous or sub- 

 pilose above. Panicle 2-3 dm. 

 long, open, loose, the branches dis- 

 tant, usually drooping. Spikelets 

 about 6-10-flowered, narrow, 2-3 

 cm. lo)ig; empty glumes narrow, 

 scabrous on the nerves, lower 

 1-nerved, a little more than one- 

 half the length of the ujjper, upper 

 3-nerved, acute or mucronate, 9-11 

 mm. long; flowering glume 1^^-15 

 mm . long, acute, two-toothed at the 

 apex, scarious margined, distinctly 

 3-nerved, scabrous on the verves, 

 shortly hispid from the outer 

 nerves to the margin and on the 

 lower portion of the keel; awn 

 slender, straight, 7-9 mm. long; 

 palea a little more than tJiree-fourths 

 the length of its glume, ciliate-pecti- 

 nate on the keels. 

 A species introduced from Europe. It 

 Fig. l4.-iiram(«s <fctoj-»/H.u, Empty glumes; 6, por- Is said in Britton and Brown's 

 tion of a spikelet showing flowering glumes and portion "Illustrated Flora" to be distrib- 



of the awns. ^ted from New Brunswick t(^ M ichi- 



gan and Kentucky. We have no American specimens in the National Her) )arium, 

 and have drawn the above description from European material. Dr. H. Trimen 

 ( Journ. Bot. 8 : 376. 1870) has been followed in adopting Hudson's name for this 

 plant, which does not seem to have been different from Murray's. (Cf. Dr. 

 Trimen 1. c. for further synonymy.) 

 This species is very closely related to B. ciliatus and has possibly been confused with 

 it. It is usually distinguished by its rougher pilose-hispid sheaths and longer 

 flowering glume and awn. The panicle is usually looser and with fewer spikelets. 



