142 GRAMINEAE 



3-nerved, broad, keeled. Palea shorter than the lemma, often persistent ou the 

 raohilla, the strong nerves eiliate. Annuals or perennials. — Species about 100, 

 in warm and temperate regions of both hemispheres. (Greek er, spring, and 

 agrostis, a grass.) 

 Plants perennial. 



Panicle narrow and compact, more or less interrupted 1. E. secundiflora. 



Panicle loose and open 2. E. lugens. 



Plants annual. 



Spikelets dioecious or polygamous 8. E. liypnoides. 



Spikelets perfect. 



Spikelets ovate to oblong-ovate, about IV2 lines wide; keel of lemmas glandular and 



scabrous 5. E. mcgastachya. 



Spikelets linear, % to 1 line wide; keel of lemmas scabrous but not glandular. 

 Panicle jjilose in the lower axils. 



Lower lemmas V2 line wide 7. E. limbata. 



Lower lemmas M line wide 6. E. pilosa. 



Panicle glabrous in the axils. 



Pedicels flexuous and spreading; lower leumias li line wide 4. E. orcuttiana. 



Pedicels nearly straight, ascending or apprcssed; lower lemmas (a bne wide 



3. E. incxicana. 



1. E. secundiflora Presl. Perennial; culms ereet or decumbent at base, stiff, 

 1 to 2 feet high ; sheaths pilose at the throat ; panicles narrow, the branches 

 ascending, compactly flowered, approximate or more or less remote; spike- 

 lets many-tlowered, the florets closely imbricated, usually tinged with red; 

 glumes 1-nerved, the second 1 line long; lemmas prominently 3-nerved, sca- 

 brous on keel, broad at base, the acuminate apex somewhat divergent. 



Sandy prairies, Kansas to Florida and Mexico and west to southern California. 

 San Diego, Orcutt in 1884. 



Refs. — Ebagrostis secundiflora Presl, Eel. Haenk. 1 : 27(i. 1830. E. oxi/lcpis Torr. U. 8. 

 Rep. Expl. Miss. Pacif. 4: 156. 18.57. Poa oxylcpU Torr. in Marcy, Expl. Red Eiv. 301. 18.53. 

 F. iiilerniptd Nutt. Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. IL 5: 196. 1837, not Lam. 1791. 



2. E. lugens Nees. Perennial ; culms erect, 2 to 3 feet high ; leaves mostly 

 basal, the blades narrow, involute; panicle large and diffuse, about J^ the 

 length of the entire plant; spikelets 3 to 4 lines long, about % line wide; sec- 

 ond glume 1 line long; lower lemmas 1 line long. % line wide. 



Sandy prairies. San Diego Co. (Jamacha, Canhy\ to Texas and south to South 

 America. 



Ref. — Er.vcrostis lugens Nees, Agrost. Bras. 50.5. ISiO. 



3. E. mexicana Link. Annual; culms erect or spreading, 1 to 2 feet high; 

 sheaths hairy at the throat; blades often elongated; panicle large and diffuse, 

 glabrous in the axils, 6 to 12 inches long; spikelets 2 to 3 lines long, % line 

 wide, mostly 6 to 12-flowered, the pedicels slender, tlexuous, mostly longer than 

 the spikelet; glumes acuminate, the second about 1 line long; lemmas smooth, 

 the lower 1 line long, i/^ line wide, the lateral nerves not prominent. 



A weed in fields and waste places, southern California (Los Angeles, River- 

 side) to New Mexico and southward to Mexico. 



Refs. — Eragkostis mexicana Link, Hort. Berol. 1 : 190. 1827. Poa me.rif<i)ia Lag. Cfcn. & 

 Sp. Nov. 3. 1816. 



4. E, orcuttiana Vasey. Resembling E. mexicana; dift'ering in the more 

 slender, usually arcuate spikelets on shorter pedicels; spikelets 21/0 to 3 lines 

 long, l^ to 1/1. line wide; glumes short, the first 1/0 line, the second % line long; 

 lemmas scarcely 14 line wide. 



Fields and waste places, known only from California. 



Locs.— Yreka, Butler 8G9; Castle Crag, Hitchcock- 3063; Amador Co., Hansen 813, 2086; 



