342 IOWA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE Vol. XXV, 1918 



Lamson-Scribner in "Grasses of Iowa."® Here may also 

 be mentioned the work done by Clark and Malte on the 

 "Fodder and Pasture Plants of Canada'"'', which included in 

 some instances bud and rhizome characters. Plitchcock and 

 Clothier, in a Kansas Experiment Station Bulletin on "Vegeta- 

 tive Propagation of Perennial Weeds"" have described the 

 habits of growth of the rhizomes of various weeds including a 

 few grasses. Another study of rhizomes is that of Pammel and 

 Fogel on "The Underground Organs of a Few "Weeds. "^^ In 

 this was included a description of Agropyron repens. 



Lyman Carrier, in a U. S. Department of Agriculture Bull- 

 etin," has written a very comprehensive report on the ' ' Identifi- 

 cation of Grasses by Their Vegetative Characters. "^^ He has 

 given the bud characters, leaf, ligule and auricle, but he has not 

 included a study of the rhizomes of perennials. In this study, 

 the work of Carrier is followed, including in some cases differ- 

 ent species and a study of the characters of the rhizomes of 

 perennials only. 



METHOD OF PROCEDURE. 



The rhizomes of twenty-seven perennial grasses were gathered 

 and planted in the greenhouse in fertile soil, the latter part of 

 October. Duplicates of these were placed in the laboratory in 

 sphagnum moss. Temperature readings were kept and develop- 

 ment of new buds from the rhizomes was noted, also whether 

 or not any of these grasses had a resting period. 



The rhizomes' in both instances vpere kept under uniform 

 conditions as to moisture and temperature. The temperatures 

 in the greenhouse ranged from 65° to 70° F., while those ii? 

 the laboratory were much lower, ranging from 38° to 70° F. 

 The rhizomes grown in the sphagnum were submitted to 

 conditions undesirable for their best growth, such as lack of 

 moisture, too much moisture, and lack of suitable lighting con- 

 ditions. However, under these conditions Agropyron repens, 

 Poa compressa, and Dactylis glomerata, put forth vigorous 



*Pamimel, L,. H.. W'eems, J. B., lyamson-Scribner, F., The Grasses of Iowa : 

 Iowa Geological Survey Bull. 1, 1901. 



"Clark, Geo. H., Malte, M. Oscar, Fodder and Pasture Plants in Dominion 

 of Canada: Department of Agriculture, Dominion of Canada, 1913. 



ii'Hitchcock, A. S., and Clothier, Geo. L., Fifth Report on Kansas Weeds — 

 Veg-etative Propag-ation of Pesennial Wfeeds: Bull. Kan. Ag. Exp. Sta. 76, 

 1898. w 



"Pammel, L.. H., and Fogel, Estella D.. The Underffround Organs of a 

 Few Weeds. Proc. Iowa Acad. Sci., Vol. XVI, p. 36. 1909. 



'^Carrier, Lyman. The Identification of Grasses by Their Vegetative Char- 

 acters. U. S. Dept.- Agric. Bull. 461, 1917. 



