STANDLEY — FLORA OF GLACIER PARK. 289 



Plants slender and lax, growing in mossy bogs, the culms simple or few in 

 a tuft; sheaths slightly retrose-scabrous; panicle open, the few branches 

 slender and drooping, bearing spikelets toward the ends. 



5. P. leptoeoma. 

 Plants erect and firm, sometimes decumbent at base; sheaths glabrous; 

 panicle erect or nodding, much branched. 

 Culms erect at base, the sheaths terete; panicles usually averaging less 



than 10 cm. long 6. P. crocata. 



Culms decumbent at base, the lower sheaths compressed -keeled; panicle 



often 30 cm. long, usually over 10 cm. long 7. P. palustris. 



Lemmas not cottony at base, though the pubescence on the nerves may be 



more dense toward the base 8. P. alpina. 



Lemmas not pubescent on the nerves, sometimes pubescent all over the lower 

 part of the back. 

 Lemmas glabrous; panicle narrow and compact, almost spikelike. 



9. P. epilis. 

 Lemmas pubescent on the lower part, convex on the back; panicle rather open. 



Culms spreading and loosely decumbent at base 10. P. gracillima. 



Culms erect at base. 

 Leaves mostly basal, a reduced blade about the middle of the slender 



naked culm; blades folded 11. P. sandbergii. 



Leaves scattered along the tall culm; blades flat 12. P. lucida. 



1. Poa annua L. Annual bluegrass. Open places along McDonald Creek. 

 Widely distributed in N. Amer., Eur., and Asia. — Plants in tufts or mats, with glossy 

 green foliage and small pale open panicles. 



Blooming earlier than any other grass in the region. 



2. Poa compressa L. Canada bluegrass. About Belton and the east entrance, 

 in waste ground; adventive. Widely naturalized in N. Amer.; native of Eur. and 

 Asia. — Plants bluish green, with flat culms and rather scant foliage; spikelets green, 

 with bronze tips. 



3. Poa pratensis L. Kentucky bluegrass. Frequent at low and middle alti- 

 tudes, in meadows or thin woods; planted for lawns at Belton and elsewhere. Widely 

 distributed in N. Amer., Eur., and Asia; in N. Amer., at least in part, naturalized 

 from Eur. — Plants leafy, the culms 30 to 70 mm. tall; panicles pyramidal, nearly as 

 broad as long, the lower branches mostly in fives. 



4. Poa wheeleri Vasey. Belton, in open woods. B. C. to Colo, and Alta. — Plants 

 resembling the preceding, on the average taller and coarser, with larger panicle, its 

 lower branches mostly in twos. 



6. Poa leptoeoma Trin. Above or near timber line, in meadows or woods or on 

 open slopes. Alaska to Wash, and Colo. — Plants in loose tufts, with weak culms, 

 soft blades, and few-flowered, very open panicles. 



6. Poa crocata Michx. Common at low and middle altitudes, in woods or meadows. 

 Alaska to Ariz., Mont., and Lab. — Plants in dense tufts, the rather wiry culms 40 to 

 75 cm. tall, the rather small purplish spikelets on short divergent pedicels, giving the 

 panicle a delicate lacy aspect. 



7. Poa palustris L. East entrance, in aspen thicket. Widely distributed in 

 N. Amer., Eur., and Asia. (P. triflora Gilib.) — ^Culms commonly 70 to 100 cm. tall, 

 often decumbent at base; blades somewhat scabrous; panicles nodding, with slender 

 branches in distant fascicles, the small spikelets commonly bronze or golden. 



8. Poa alpina L. Common, chiefly above timber line, but sometimes at low or 

 middle altitudes, in woods or meadows or along streams. Alaska to Colo., Que., 

 and Greenl.; also in Eur. and Asia. — Plants densely tufted, commonly with a 



