GRASS FAMILY 18-") 



69. ELYMUS L. 



Spikelets 2 to 6-flowered. in pairs, sessile ;it the joints of a continuous racliis. 

 rarely sinijle or more than two together. Glumes equal, usually narrow aii<l 

 rigid, 1 to ;5-nerved, acute or awned, placed at the sides or close together in 

 front of the florets. Lemmas convex, obscurely 5-nerved, usually acute or 

 awned from the apex. Erect perennials (except E. caput-medusae) with ter- 

 minal often bristly spikes. — Species aliout 25. in temperate regions of both 

 hemispheres. (Greek elumos, an ancient name for a kind of millet.) 



Plants annual 1. E. caiiKlnu (Inxuc. 



Plants perennial. 



Glumes subulate, nearly or quite nerveless. 



Lemmas pubescent ; plant cinereus-pubcscent 2. E. c in ere lis. 



Lemmas glabrous or hispidulou.s. 



Plant stout and tall; blades usually more than 4 lines wide, flat; rli'zomes thick; spike 



dense 3. E. coiidensatti.i. 



Plant slender; blades usually less than 2Vj lines wide, involute; rhizome slender; spike 



slender 4. E. tritifoiilcs. 



Cilumes lanceolate, distinctly nerved. 



Plant i)rodueing rhizomes 5. E. areiuiriiix. 



Plant not producing rhizomes. 



Awn of lemma a short point 6. E. puhexreiix. 



Awn of lenmm once or twice as long as bodj' 7. E. (/hiurus. 



1 E. caput-medusae L. Annual ; culms branched at base, erect or decum- 

 bent at base, slender, 8 inches to 2 feet high; blades naiTow and short; spike 

 1 to 2 inches long, long-awned: glumes awl-shaped, smooth, indurated below, 

 narrowed into a slender awn 1/2 to 1 inch long; lemmas lanceolate, .'i-nerved. 

 '■i lines long, flat, very scabrous, gradually narrowed into a tlat awn. 2 to 4 

 inches long. 



Open ground. California to Washington; introduced from Europe. Klama- 

 thou. Copilaiul 3493; Los Gatos, Hitchcock 2631, 



Ref. — Ei.VMUs c.vPUT-MEDUSAE L, Sp, PI, S4, 1753. 



2. E. cinereus Scribn. & Merr. Culms erect, stout, puberulent. 4 to 5 feet 

 high ; sheaths and blades cinereus-pubescent, the hitter with an indurated 

 point; sjjike erect, 6 to 8 inches long, dense, interrupted below; spikelets 7 to 

 9 lines long; glumes subulate, about 1 1; inch long, scabrous-pubescent; lemmas 

 scabrous-pubescent, e.specially the apex, faintly nerved, obtuse, mui-ronatc nr 

 with a short awn-point. 



The type is from Pahrump Valley. Nevada. The only specimen seen from 

 California is from Lancaster. Elmer 3662. 



Ref.— Elymus cixereus Scribn, & Merr, Bull, Torr, Club 29: 4(i7, 1902. 



3. E. condensatus Presl. Culms in large tufts, stout, 3 to 6 feet high, pru 

 ducing stout knotty rhizomes; sheaths smooth; blades flat, as much as Id 

 lines wide ; spike erect, usually dense, as much as a foot long, sometimes 

 branched ; glumes narrowly lanceolate or subulate, awn-pointed, usually only 

 1-nerved. or nerveless; about as long as the first lemnui ; lennnas awtdess or 

 nuicronate. 



Dry plains and hillsides and along gullies and ditches, southern California 

 to British Columbia and .Mberta. and east to Nebraska. In California found es])e- 

 cially in the coastal region from San Francisco southward. A botanic garden s])eci- 

 inen from Davy, said to have been culti\'at(>(l at Hcrkcley from seeil froiii San 

 Hmigdio Canon. Kern Co., aiul a second cult i\' a led s|iecimi'n of whir h the sonrre 



