Festuca. CLXI. GRAMLNEA:. Gil 



lower palea cordate, bifi<l at tlio apex, usually awned a little below 

 the tip, u])pcr palea eoudu])licate, eiliate ou the margin ; scales 

 ovate, smooth. 



1. B. SKCALlM'S. Ckcal. C/lCSS. 



^V. siiKJotli, L'lect, 3rhi«jli ; /r.s. flat, rough at the edge and a]>ove ; shraths 

 veined, smooth; slip, laciniate; panicle spreading, the branches mostly simple, 

 each bearing 1 — '2 spikelets; spi/,(lifs ovale, comprcssrd, about lO-flowercd, large, 

 2-rankoil, oval, appearing not unlike short heads of wheal. Flowers distinct, 

 awn very short. — (X) A handsome grass in lields, olien among wheat. Jime, ^ 



2. B. ARVENsis. (B. mollis of Am. aulh. ?) Soft Brome Grass. 



Root (X); St. erect, mostly pubescent, 1 — 2f high; Ivs. and sheaths downy- 

 pube.scent; panicle erect, close, compound, 3 — 4' long; spikclds oblong-ovate, 

 slightly compre.s.>sed, tomentose, 5 — lO-flowercd; y/s. elliptical; hiwcr palea oh- 

 long-lanccolate, 7- veined, with a straight awn nearly its length. A coarse grass, 

 in fields and roadsides. June, July. ^ 



3. B. puRG.vNs, (Canadensis, ciliatus and pubescens, oi Linn., MuhL, <^c.) 

 St. terete, rather slender, simple, erect, 2 — it' high, nodes blackish ; Its. 



broadly linear, flat, rough-edged, more or less pubescent, striate, G — 12' by 3—5"; 

 sheaths more or less pilose with deflexed hairs; patiide large, erect, 5 — 8' long, 

 finally nodding, branches in 2s — 4s, compound, scabrou.s-pubescent ; spikcUts 

 numerous, lance-ov^oid, subterete, 7 — 11-flowered, pedicellate, 9 — 13" long, acute 

 at each end; Jis. imbricated, lower palea pubescent, longiT than its straight awn, 

 upper green at edge and beautil'ully eiliate. — % Fields and woods, U. S. and 

 Brit. Am. Jn., Jl. — Varies in size, pubescence, &c., but its forms can scarcely 

 be characterized even as varieties. — A coarse, showy grass, of little value. 



35. CERATOCHLOA. Palis. 



Gr. Kcpai, TTcpaTOi, a horn, x^°^i grass. 



Panicle simple ; spikelets lanceolate, compressed, many-flowered ; 

 glumes shorter than the flowers, palea? bifid-toothed, the lower one 

 mucronate between the teeth ; fruit coated, furrowed, 3-horned. 



C. UNiLoiDES. Palis. 



St. 1 — 2f high; Irs. lance-linear, pubescent, veined; sheaths bearded at the 

 throat ; slip, ovate ; panicle small, nodding, spreading, branches in pairs ; spike- 

 lets oblong-lanceolate, pedicels hairy ; gbunes nearly equal, acuminate, striate ; 

 palea: unequal, lanceolate, acuminate, margined ; sta. 3. — River bottoms, Penn., 

 Car 



36. FESTUCA. 



A Latin name for the shoot or stalk of a plant. 



Spikelets oblong, acute at each end, subterete ; glumes 2, unequal, 

 shorter than the flowers ; palece lanceolate, lower one sharply acumi- 

 nate or awned at the extremity ; caryopsis coated. 



1. F. TENELLA. Willd. S.'cndcr Fescue Grass. 



St. filiform, wiry, olteu growing in tufts and geniculate at base, 6 — 12' 

 high; /r5. erect, linear-setaceous, 2 — 3' long; sheaths subpubescent, with lace- 

 rated stipules ; panicle simple, contracted, rather secund, branches alone or in 

 pairs; spikelets 5 — 7-flowered, with subulate, subequal glumes, at length brown- 

 ish ; Jls. subulate, longer than their awns. — (I) Sandy fields, N. Eng. to 111., S. to 

 Car. June. 



2. F. ELATioR. Tall Fescue Grass. 



St. smooth, 3 — 4f high ; Ivs. lanceolate, smooth, rough-edged, a foot long, 

 on smooth, loose sheaths ; panick drooping, very branching, loosely spreading, 

 branches in pairs ; spikekts lance-ovate, acute, 4 — 6-flowered, 6 — 8" long, race- 

 mose on the branches; loiocr plume shorter; lower palea, acuminate or mucro- 

 nate. — A fine grass, in meadows, U. S. and Can. June. 



3. F. PRATENSis. Huds. Meadow Fescue Grass. 



St. smooth, 2 — 3f high ; Ivs. lance-linear, veined, smooth, rough-edged, 

 52 



