﻿EUSTACHYS IN NORTH AMERICA 445 



habitat as the East Indies, but making no reference whatever to 

 the publication of his first species of this name. This, of course, 

 makes this subsequently published name a homonym, and neces- 

 sitates securing another name for the East Indian plant, a result 

 which can probably be attained by delving among the mass of 

 little understood names in this genus. 



//. 



1815. 



Culms 1.5—9 dm. tall, compressed, erect, finally branched ; 

 nodes 2-4 : culm leaves 2-4 ; sheaths compressed, keeled, much 

 shorter than the internodes, loosely embracing the culm, the upper- 

 most one much enlarged at the time of protrusion of the inflores- 

 cence ; ligule a scarious ciliolate ring I mm. or less wide ; blades 

 1-20 cm. long, usually less than 10 cm., 2-6 mm. wide, erect or 

 ascending, smooth beneath, usually very rough above : inflorescence 

 yellowish, or silvery white, often tinged with purple, consisting 01 

 3-12, commonly 8-10, erect spikes, 2-8 cm. long : spikelets, ex- 

 clusive of the awns, about 4 mm. long, long-hairy at the base : 

 scales 4, or occasionally 5 ; outer empty ones lanceolate, often 

 purplish, acuminate, the first scale about three fifths as long as the 

 second which is about 3 mm. long and bears just below the apex 

 an awn about 1 mm. long ; third scale, exclusive of the awn, 3-3.5 

 mm. long, pilose on the callus, in side view equilateral and about 

 1 mm. wide, the midnerve abruptly contracted a short distance 

 below the awn, glabrous or more or less pilose with short hairs 

 except at the summit, the marginal nerves nearly equally curved, 



short pilose below the middle, long pilose at the summit with erect 

 ha* 



the internerves below the middle and near the midnerve sometimes 



irs 2.5-3 m m. long, which much exceed the apex of the scale, 



sparingly appressed-pubescent, the awn inserted just below the 

 summit, 5-10 mm. long, the palet about as long as the scale; 

 fourth scale 1.5-2.5 mm. long, in side view about .6 mm. wide 

 and obcuneate to oblong-cuneate, obliquely truncate at the apex, 

 the midnerve nearly straight or a little curved, the lateral nerves 

 curved from about the middle to the apex, the awn inserted just 

 below the summit, 3-7 mm. long ; fifth scale, when present, tri- 

 a ngular, less than 1 mm. long: seed elliptic, 1.75 mm. long. 



Sandy soil. Texas to Arizona, south to Central America. 



The following, among many specimens examined, are to be re- 

 ferred here : 



New Mexico : C Wright, 185 1-2, nos. 2026 and 2027. 



