564 GRAMINE^. (grass FAMILY.) 



appresscd , flowers minute, mcmbi-anaccous, rather distant on the rachis ; lower 

 palca obtuse, 3-nerved. (Poa confcrta. Ell.) — River-banks, Florida to South 

 Carolina. Aug. and Sept. — Panicle whitish. Spikelcts 1"- 1^" long. 



* * * Culms simple, erect, shorter than the large and spreading panicle. 



6. E. tenuis, Gray. "Panicle virgately clonjjjated (l°-2i° long), very 

 loose, the spreading branches bearded in some of tiie lower axils, tlieir remote 

 divisions and long diverging i)edice!s capillary; spikelets 2 • 6- (sometimes 7- 

 12-) flowered, pale or greenish; glumes lanceolate or awl-shapcd, very aiute 

 (l^"-2" long), membranaceous, as are the oiilong-ianceolate acute flowers; 

 lower palea distinctly 3-nerved ; the upper, ciliate-scabrous." (jnii/. (Poa te- 

 nuis, Ell.) — Greenville, South Carolina, Ellott; North Carolina, Curtis. Aug. 

 and Sept. ')\.'*. — Leaves (1^° - 2° long) and sheaths smooth or hairy. 



7. E. eapillaris, Nces. Panicle widely expanding, the lower axils mostly 

 bearded ; sj)ikelets very small (1"- \^" long), 2 -4flowered, mostly purple, on 

 long diverging capillary pedicels ; glumes and flowers ovate, acute ; lower palea 

 obscurely 3-ncrved. (Poa, L. P. hirsuta, Miclix.) — Dry uncultivated fields, 

 Florida, and northward. Aug. and Sept — Leaves and sheaths smooth or 

 hairy. Panicle l'^ - 2° long. 



8. E. nitida. Panicle (l^°-3° long) reclining, the bristlo-liko or capil- 

 lary branches erect-spreading, nak("d in tlie axils ; spikelets linear, flat (3" -4" 

 long), 8-12-flowered, on erect-spreading pedicels l'-2' long; lower ]ialea acute, 

 3-nerved, nearly smooth on the keel ; leaves and sheaths veiy sjnooth and shin- 

 ing. (Poa nitida, EH) — Low grassy places along the coast, West Florida to 

 South Carolina. Aug and Sept. 11. — Leaves narrowly liniar, longer than 

 the short (6' -9' higli) culm. 



9. E. pectinacea, Gray. Pani.cle erect, widely spreading, or the rather 

 rigid and hairy branches at length reflexcd ; spikelets purple, flat, about 8-flow- 

 ered, shorter than the erect or sliglitly S])readiiig pedicels ; lower ])a!ca ovate, 

 acute, strongly 3-nerved, rough-keeled. (Poa pectinacea, Michx. P. hirsuta, 

 Ell., <J-c., not of Mich.r.) — Dry sterile soil, Florida, ami northward. i\tig. and 

 Sept. — Panicle 1°- li° long. Leaves and sheaths mostly elotlicd with long 

 soft hairs. 



Var. refracta. Smooth throughout, or the sheaths of the short and rigid 

 leaves bearded at the throat; panicle (6'- 12' long) with the braiu'hes reflexcd ; 

 spikelcts sessile or nearly so, 15 - 20-flowercd ; lower palca faintly 3-ncrvcd. 

 (Poa refracta, Ell.) — Damp soil, Florida to North Carolina. — Spikelets about 

 5" long. 



33. DACTYLIS, L. Orchard-Grass. 



Perennial grasses, with simple culms, keeled leaves, and 2 - T-llowcrcd spikelcts 

 crowded in a 1-sidcd glomerate panicle. Glumes ami lower palca herbaceous, 

 keeled, awn-pointed, rough-ciliatc on the keel, the latter fj-ncrvcd. Stamens 3. 

 Grain free. 



1. D. glomcrata, L. — Near Charleston, Elliott, and nortliward. Intro- 

 duced. Mav and June. — Culms 2°-3° hi^ih. Leaves and sheaths scabrous. 



