604 CLXI. GRAMINEiE. Panicum. 



tered, horizontal, 1 — 6' long ; spikelets ovate, few and scattered ; paXecB smooth 

 and polished. — % In woods, Penn. to Can. Plant pale green. Summer. 



2. M. PUNGENS. Torr. Dwarf Millet Grass. 



St. erect, simple, rigid, 12 — 18' high ; Ivs. lanceolate, cauline very short, 

 pungent, at length involute, radical 6 — 8' long, erect, acute and pungent; sheaths 

 striate, rough, tumid ; panicle contracted, few-flowered ; ped. bifid ; glumes awn- 

 less; paiecB hairy, about equaling the glumes; sty. 2-parted. — % Rocky hills, 

 Northern States, rare. May. 



3. M. AMPHicARPON. Pursh. (M. ciiiatum. Muhl) 



Sts. numerous, assurgent, 18 — 24' high, somewhat branched and genicu- 

 late; Ivs. 2 — 3' by 2 — 4", lance-linear, hairy and ciliate ; sheaths striate, the 

 upper ones leafless ; panicle simple, 2 — 3' long, its branches few, erect, appressed, 

 racemose, bearing ^ flowers ; spikelets oblong, purplish ; radical peduncles clus- 

 tered, 1 — 3' high, sheathed, each bearing a single 9 spikelet ; caryopsis brown. 

 — N. J. Aug. 



20. OPLISMENUS. Kunth. 

 CrT. onXiafia, armament, ^£j/oj, courage; alluding to the stout awns. 



Panicle compounded of alternate, dense racemes ; glumes 2, une- 

 qual, echinate, 2-flowered, lower short, upper as long as the $ , acumi- 

 nate ; abortive flowers with 2 paleae, the lower terminating in a long 

 awn ; $ paleae cartilaginous, shining, coating the caryopsis. 



1. O. Crus-galli. Kunth. (Panicum. Lin7i.y Cock's-foot Grass. 



St. terete, smooth, 3 — 4f high ; Ivs. linear-lanceolate, flat, serrulate, with 

 smooth, striate sheaths and no stipule ; panicle simple or apparently so, branches 

 spike-form, compound, alternate and in pairs ; rax.his hairy and rough ; glumes 

 hispid with bristles ; lower abortive palea ending in a rough awn, nearly 1' in 

 length. — (1) A coarse, weedy grass, introduced into cultivated grounds, barn- 

 yards, &c., common. Aug., Sept. ^ 



2. O. HispiDUM. Wood. (O. muricatus. Kunth. Panicum. Muhl.) 



St. thick, 3 — 4f high ; Ivs'. broad, flat ; panicle compound, nodding, dense, 

 4 — 6' long, with alternate racemes ; fls. always awned. — (1) Salt marshes, N. Y. 

 to Car. Best distinguished from the preceding by its hispid sheaths, Sept., 

 Oct. 



21. PANICUM. 

 Lat. panicula, the mode of flowering, or panis, bread, which some species afford. 



Glumes 2, unequal, the lower mostly very small ; flowers 2, dis- 

 similar, the lower abortive or sterile, with 1 — 2 paleae, the upper 

 palea membranaceous ; the upper $ , with the paleae cartilaginous, 

 equal, concave, awnless, coating the caryopsis. 



* Spikelets in racemose panicles. 



1. P. AGRosToiDEs. Muhl. (P. clongatum. Ph. P. fusco-rubens 1 Nutt.) 

 St. compressed, glabrous, 1^ — 3f high, often geniculate at base ; Ivs. long 



and numerous, cauline linear-lanceolate, carinate, rough-edged, on short, striate 

 sheaths; panicles terminal and lateral, pyramidal, composed of racemed, 

 .spreading or deflexed branches; spikelets 1" "long, purple, lanceolate, acute, 

 crowded and appressed ; upper glume 5-veined ; palea of the neutral flower 

 nearly equal. — %. 1 Meadows, frequent. July. 



2. P. ANCEPs. Michx. (P. rostratum. Muhl.} 



St. compressed, 2 — 3f high ; Ivs. linear, carinate, very long ; sheaths an- 

 cipital, pilose on the throat and margin ; panicle erect, contracted, with nearly 

 simple branches ; spikelets interruptedly racemose, very acuminate ; upper palea 

 of the neutral flower oblong, obtuse or emarginate. — '2|. Fields and meadows. 

 Common, Mid. States, N. Eng. July. 



3. P. PROLiFERUM. Lam. (P. dichotomiflorum. Mx. P. geniculatum, 

 Muhl.)— St. assurgent, geniculate at base, very smooth, thick and succu- 

 lent ; Ivs. linear-lanceolate, 4 — 6" wide, 10—15' long, on tumid sheaths, hairy 



