GRAMINEE. (GRASS FAMILY.) 567 
4. U. nitida, Baldw. Panicle short, of few rigid spreading branches; 
spikelets (6 -8" long) oblong, 6—8-flowered; palez equal, the lower acute, 
serrulate near the apex ; stamen 1. — Swamps, Florida, Georgia, and westward. 
Aug. — Culms slender, 19 -2? high. Leaves linear, smooth. 
37. PHRAGMITES, Trin. Rexp. 
Large perennial marsh grasses, with broad and flat leaves and panicled spike- 
lets. Spikelets 3 — 6-flowered, with the rachis bearded with long and silky hairs. 
Lowest flower with a single stamen and imperfect ovary, the others triandrous 
and perfect. Glumes unequal, pointed. Lower palea narrowly awl-shaped, 2-3 
times as long as the 2-cleft upper one.  Stigmas 2. Grain free. 
1. P. communis, Trin. Culms 5°-8° high; leaves numerous, 1/-2! 
wide; panicle diffuse, nodding; spikelets 3 — 5-flowered, about as long as the 
white hairs of the rachis. — Deep river marshes near the coast, Florida, and 
northward. Sept. 
38. ELYMUS, L. Lxwr-Gnass. 
Coarse flat-leaved perennial grasses, with Higa erect culms, bearing a single 
spike of 2 — 7-flowered spikelets, arranged 2-4 in a cluster at each joint of the 
zigzag rachis. Glumes 2, placed side by side before the spikelets, coriaceous, 
unequal-sided, mostly.awned. Palez of the same texture as the glumes, the 
lower convex on the back, tapering into a rigid awn; the upper enclosing the 
linear hairy-tipped grain. Stamens 3. Stigmas 2. 
1. E. Virginicus, L. Spike dense, erect (3! long), the base usually 
included in the dilated sheath of the uppermost leaf; spikelets 2 —3 in a cluster, 
2 —3-flowered, smoothish, short-awned ; glumes lanceolate, strongly nerved. — 
River-banks, Florida, and northward. July and Aug.— Culms 2°-3° high. 
Leaves rough. Sheaths smooth. 
2. E. striatus, Willd. Spike dense, erect or slightly nodding (3'- 5' long), 
long-peduncled ; spikelets 2-3 in a cluster, 1 -3-flowered, hairy, long-awned ; 
glumes linear-subulate, long-awned, much longer than the flowers. — Rocky 
woods and banks in the upper districts, and northward. July- - Sept. — Culms 
slender, 2° high. Leaves and sheaths smooth or EEFE ; 
39. GYMNOSTICHUM, Schreb. 
* Spikelets 2-3 on each joint of the rachis, raised on a short and thick stalk. 
Glumes none, or a single awn-like rudiment. Otherwise as in Elymus. 
b G. Hystrix, Schreb. Spike erect, 3'— 6 long, lax-flowered ; spikelets 
yellowish, ~ 4-flowered, smooth or rough-hairy, long-awned ; doom 
