84 



POACEAE 



67. PUCCINELLIA Pari. Meadow-grass. 



Perennials with rootstocks, ours tufted. Inflorescence paniculate. Spike- 

 lets 3-several-flowered; flowers perfect. Empty glumes 2, obtuse or acute, 

 unequal. Lemma rounded on the back, obscurely 5-nerved. Palet nearly 

 equalUng the lemma. Styles wanting; stigmas sessile, plumose. Grain usually 

 adherent to the palet. 



Leaves mostly basal; panicle less than 1 dm. long. 1. P. Lemmoni. 

 Leaves scattered on the stem; panicle usually more than 1 dm. long. 



Lem.raLa 2-2.5 mm. long, distinctly nerved. 2. P. Nuttalliana. 



Lemma 2 mm. long or less, obscurely nerved. 3. P. tenuiftora. 



• 1. P, Lemmoni (Vasey) Scribn. Stem 1-4 dm. high; leaves smooth, fili- 

 form, involute, short, the cauline ones few and reduced; panicle 5-10 cm. long, 

 becoming open; branches short, spreading; empty glumes both 1-nerved, 2-3 

 mm. long; lemma 3 mm, long, smooth. Glyceria Lemmoni Vasey. Alkaline 

 flats: Calif. — B.C. — Sask. Plain — Suhmont. Je-JL 



2. P. Nuttalliana (Schultes) Hitchc. Stem 3-12 dm. high, erect, strict; 



leaf-blades 5-10 cm. long, 3 mm. wide or less, usually involute or the ui)per flat; 

 panicle open with spreading or ascending branches; spikelets scattered, 1-7- 

 flowered, 3-6 mm. long; empty glumes unequal, the first acute, 1-nerved, the 

 second obtuse or acute, 3-nervecL P. airoides (Nutt.) Wats. & Coult. G. distans 

 airoides Nutt. Saline soil: Man. — Kans. — N.M. — Nev. — B.C. — Mack. Plain 

 — Subalp, Je-Au. 



3. P. tenuiflora (Griseb.) Scrib. & Merr. Stems 4-G dm. high; leaf-blades 

 6-9 cm. long, 1-2 mm. wide, involute; panicle 1-1.5 dm. long; branches capillary, 

 ascending or spreading, scabrous, often 1 dm. long; spikelets 3-4 mm. long, 3- 

 or 4-flowered. Atropis tenuiflora Griseb. Alkaline flats: Alaska — Sask. Boreal 

 — Plain — Submord. Je-Au. 



68. FESTUCA L. Fescue-grass. 



Perennials, or annuals, usually tufted. Inflorescence paniculate. Spike- 

 lets 2-several-flowered, the flowers perfect or the upper ones staminate, the 

 rachilla articulate between the flowers. Empty glumes 2, membranous, unequal, 

 keeled, acute, the first mostly 1-nerved, the second 3-nerved. Lemma rounded 

 on the back, at least below, acute, more or less awned, 3-7-nerved. Palet a 

 little shorter than the lemma, 2-keeled. Stamens 1-3. Styles very short, 

 distinct, terminal or nearly so; stigmas plumose, bilateral. 



Perennials; stamens 3. 



Leaf-blades of the innovations narrow, 3 mm. wide or less, involute. 



Innovations extravaginal; i. e., plants with creeping rootstocks and stolons; 



leaves smooth. 

 Spikelets pubescent. 1. F. KitaibeUana. 



Spikelets glabrous or scabrous. 



Body of the lemma 5-7 mm. long; leaf-blades rather firm. 

 Stem-leaves with flat blades; innovations niunerous. 



2. F. rubra. 

 Stem-leaves with filiform involute blades; innovations few. 



3. F. vallicola. 

 Body of the lemma about 4 nun. long; leaf-blades filiform, soft. 



4. F. Earki. 

 Innovations intra vaginal; plants bunch-grasses. 



Ligules short, truncate or rounded. 



Body of the lemma 3-8 mm. long; leaf-blades long, persistent on the sheaths; 



palet obtuse or 2-toothed at the apex. 

 Pulvini at the bases of the branches of the panicle none or obsolete; 



tufts easily separable. 

 Lemma (without the awTis) 3-4-mm. lung, not half longer than the 



first glume; plant 1-2 (rarely 3) dm. liii^h; inflorescence 

 spike-like. 

 Lemma lanceolate, long-actmiinate and long-aw ned ; panicle 



dense; leaf-blades short, scarcely flhform. 



Leaf-blades soft and sulcate, at least in age. 



5. F. bruchyphyUa- 



Leaf-blades Arm and terete, even in age. 6. F. supina. 

 Lemma oblong-lanceolate, abruptly contracted into a short awn; 



panicle lax; leaf-blades nairowly fiUform and soft. 



7. F. minutiflora. 



