596 CLXI. GRAMINEtE. Agrostis. 



5. A. STRiCTA. Michx. Upright Anstida. 



St. strictly erect, cacspitose, branched, 2 — 3f high ; lis. straight, erect, 

 pubescent, linear, convolute above ; panicle long, loosely racemose; spikelets ap- 

 pressed; glumes unequal, very acute; loiver paleahRhy at base; aions twice as long 

 as the paieoG, spreading, the middle one the longest. — % Penn. to Car.W. to Mich. 



2. ST I PA. 

 Lat. stipa, a foot-stalk ; alluding to the stipitate fniit of some of the species. 



Glumes 2 ; paleae mostly 2, shorter than the glumes, the lower 

 with a long awn at the apex, the upper entire ; awn jointed at the 

 base, deciduous ; caryopsis striate. 



1. S. AVENACEA. Featha' Grass. 



St. naked above ; 2 — ^3f high ; hs. smooth, striate, setaceous, chiefly radi- 

 cal ; panicle spreading, somewhat 1-sided, 4 — 6' long, at length diflfuse, branches 

 capillary, solitary and in pairs ; glumes nearly equal, mucronate, as long as the 

 dark brown, cylindric fruit ; scales 2, lanceolate ; awn twisted, 2 — 3' in length. — 

 % N. Y. to Car. 



2. S. JUNCEA. Pursh. Rush-leaved Feather Grass. 



St. 2 — 3f high ; Ivs. convolute-filiform, smooth inside, long ; panicle loose ; 

 glumes loose, filiformly acuminated to more than twice the length of the fruit ; 

 fr. attenuated at base into a stipe which is a third of its length, stipe acute, 

 pubescent; palecc obtuse, distinctly articulated to the awn, which is smooth and 

 slender, scarcely contorted and 4 — 6' in length. — % Prairies, 111., Mo. When 

 in fruit, the pungent stipe adheres to everything that comes in its way. Aug. 



3. S. Canadensis. Lam. 



Lvs. setaceous; panicle small; glumes smooth, ovate-obtuse, as long as 

 the pubescent fruit ; awn thick and short. — % Amherst, Mass, Dewey. Neither 

 this nor the preceding species is common or of much value in agriculture. 



3. PIPTATHERUM. Palis. 



Gr. TTurro), to fall, -Scpoj, harvest. 



Panicle racemed ; glumes membranaceous, longer than the ellipti- 

 cal, cartilaginous palese ; lower palea awned at the tip ; scales ovate, 

 entire ; caryopsis coated. 



P. NIGRUM. Torr. (Oryzopsis melanocarpa. Muhl.) Black-seeded Millet. 



St. erect, simple, leafy, 18 — 24' high ; panicle simple, flexuous, few- 

 flowered; spikelets racemose, ovoid-lanceolate ; glumes aciuninate, mucronate, 

 5 — 6" in length, smooth ; palece hairy, nearly black when ripe, the lower one 

 tipped with an awn an inch in length ; fruit black. — 'Zj. Rocky hills, N. Eng. 

 to Ky., frequent. Aug. 



4. ORYZOPSIS. Rich. 



Named for its resemblance (oi^i j) to the genus Oryza. 



Panicle racemed ; glumes 2, subequal, loose, obovate, awnless ; 

 paleas 2, cylindric-ovate, hairy at base ; scales linear-elongated. 



O. ASPERiroLiA. Michx. Mountain Rice. 



St. nearly naked, purple at base, 10 — 20' high; lvs. subradical, erect, 

 rigid, pungent at the point, nearl}^ as long as the stem, cauline ones few and 

 very short ; spikelets in a racemose, simple, flexuous panicle, 1 — 2 upon each 

 branch ; glumes abruptly acuminate ; palece white, the lower one with a long 

 bent awn. — "Woods, Free States, N. to Subarctic Am. Leaves green through 

 the winter. Caryopsis white, about as large as rice, farinaceous. May. 



Tribe 2. AGROSTIDEJi:.— Inflorescence panicled, rarely spiked. Spike- 

 lets solitary, 1-flowered. Glumes and palese of nearly similar texture, usu- 

 ally carinate. 



5. AGROSTIS. 



Gr. aypos, a field ; it being eminently an occupant of fields and pastures. 



Inflorescence paniculate ; glumes 2, acute, subequal, the lower one 



