GEASS FAMILY 



127 



Introduced from Europe, oonnnon in open ground from Yaneouver Island 

 to .soutliern California. 



Rpfs. — AlBA CARYOPHYLLEA L. Sp. PI. lili. 17.13 ; .Davy in .Tepson, Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 49. 1901. 



2. A. capillaris Ho.st. Similar to A. caryophyllea ; panicle moi-e diffuse; 

 spikelets scattered at the ends of the branches, 11^4 Hues long; lemma of lower 

 tloret awnless or with a minute awn just below the apex, the teeth short; 

 lemma of upper floret bearing a geniculate awn 1^2 lines long from below the 

 middle, the teeth setaceous. 



Sparingly introduced from Europe. Redwood Creek, Humboldt Co.. Vary rf- 

 Blasdale 5684 ; Kenwood, Michcner 121. 



Rpfs. — AiRA CAPILLARIS Host, Gram. Austr. 4: 20. pi. 3.3. 1S09; Da\y in Jepsoii, Fl. W. ilid. 

 Cal. 50. 1901. 



31. DESCHAMPSIA Beauv. 



Spikelets 2 (rarely 3) -flowered, in narrow or open panicles. Glumes sub- 

 ■equal. thin or searious. Raehilla prolonged behind the upper floret as a hairy 

 bristle. Lemmas 4-nerved (the midnerve becoming an awn), truncate, 2 to 

 4-toothed. bearing a slender dorsal awn from below the middle. Annuals or 

 perennials, with shining spikelets. — Species about 20. in the cold and tem- 

 perate regions of the world. (Loiseleur-Deslongchamps, a French botanist, 

 1774—1849.') 



Plants annual ; awns strongly geniculate. 



Glumes S'o to 4 lines long 1. I*, danthonioides. 



Glumes about 2 lines long 2. D. gracilis. 



Plants perennial; awns straight. 



Panicle flense ; plant stout 5. V. holdformia. 



Panicle loose or open. 



Plants robust; blades flat. 1 line wide or more; brandies of panicle spreading 



4. Z>. caespitosa. 

 I'lants slender; blades capillary; brandies of panicle erect 3. D. eloiujata. 



1. D. danthonioides IMunro. Annual; culms slender, erect, 6 to 15 inches 

 high: blaeles few. short and narrow: panicle open. 3 to 6 inches long, the 

 branches capillary, stiffly ascending, naked below, bearing a few spikelets 

 toward the ends ; glumes 3 to 4 lines long, acuminate, smooth except the keel, 

 longer than the florets; lemmas smooth and shining, somewhat indurated, 1 

 to 1% lines long, the base of the florets and the raehilla pilose, the awns genicu- 

 late. 2 to 3 lines long. 



Open ground throughout ('alifornia except in tlu; higher mountains; extends 



from Alaska to Mexico. 



Refs. — DESCHAMPSIA DANTHONIOIDES Munro ; Bentli. PI. Hartw. 342. 1857. Aira danthoni- 

 oides Trin. Mem. Acad. St. Petersb. VI. Math. Phys. Nat. 1: 57. 1830 (Jan., apparently earlier 

 than Presl's work); Thurb. in Wats. Bot. Cal. 2: 298. 1880. Danthonia cahjcina Presl, Eel. 

 Haenk. 1: 251. 1830, type from Monterey; Davy in Jepson, Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 51. 1901; Abrams, 

 PI. Los Ang. 39. 1904. " ' ' 



2. D. gracilis Vasey. Annual: culms 1 to 2 feet high; blades usually fili- 

 form; panicle open, 3 to 8 inches long, the branches slender, rather densely 

 flowered toward the ends, naked below; glumes 2 to 3 lines long, the first 

 3-nerved; lemmas as in D. danthonioides. 



Damp places: IMendocino Co. southward to Lower California. Sherwood, 

 Hitchaxk 2709: Tulare. Davy 3086. 3088. 3114; San Gabriel. Hasxr : San 

 Diego. lirandegec 3681. Priiifilc in 1882. 



Refs. — DESCHAMPSIA GRACILIS Vasey, Bot. fia/. 10: 224. 1885, type from San Diego. Orrutl. 



3. D. elongata JMunro. Perennial: culms slender, erect. 1 to 4 feet liiizh: 



