GEAMINEAE 35 



2. P. fluitans (L. ) Kuntze. Culms flat, large and stout, l°-5° long, 

 erect or decumbent : panicle 1° long with erect or spreading branches : 

 spikelets 7-13-flowered. — Low grounds west of Buckner. May-August, 



49. FESTUCA L. Fescue Grass. 

 Spikelets 2-several-flowered, paniculate or racemose. Two lower 

 glumes empty, keeled. Flowering glumes 3-nerved, rounded on the 

 back, acute or awned. Palet a little shorter, usually adhering to the 

 grain au maturity. 



Flowering glumes awned ; annuals. 

 Flowering glumes not awned ; perennials. 

 Spikelets 4h^^ or more long. 

 Spikelets 3^^ or less long. 



Spikelets obovate, crowdedat the ends of the branches. 

 Spikelets lanceolate, not crowded at the ends of the 

 branches. 



1. F. octoflora Walt. Culms erect, tufted, 4^-18' high : leaves V-2^ 

 long, bristle-form : panicle simple and spike-like, V-3'' long : spikelets 

 flat, oblong, 2V'-¥^ long, 6-13-flowered. — Frequent in dry, sandy soil, 

 especially in bottoms along the Missouri River. May. 



2. F. elatior L. Meadow Fescue. Culms l°-3° high, erect, gla- 

 brous : leaves numerous, 2^-15^ long : panicle simple or compound with 

 short, erect, crowded branches 4^-14^ long : spikelets 5-8-flowered, AV^ or 

 more long : flowering glumes obscurely 5-nerved, scarious margined, 

 acutish. — Common in waste places, streets, along railroads, etc. June- 

 August. 



3. F. obtusa Spreng. Spikelets crowded at the ends of the widely 

 spreading branches of the large panicle, 2V^-Z'^ long : flowering glumes 

 2^' long, obtuse. Otherwise like the next from which, however, it is 

 very different in a.spect. — Woods and prairies. Widely distributed in the 

 southern part, but not common. June-July. 



4. F. nutans Willd. Culms l2°-3° tall, erect, glabrous or sometimes 

 pubescent : leaves IV^-Z'' wide, 4^-10^ long : panicle very scabrous, 4^- 

 lO' long, the branches erect or spreading in age, flower-bearing at the 

 extremities: spikelets 3-5-flowered : flowering glumes 2^^ long, acute. — 

 Common in rich, rocky woods. May-June. 



50. BROMUS L. Chess. 

 Spikelets borne in terminal panicles, 5-many-flowered. Empty glumes 

 1-3-nerved, acute. Flowering glumes 3-9-nerved, rounded or compressed, 

 keeled on the back, apex mostly 2-cleft, and usually awned below the 

 summit. Grain adhering to the two-keeled palet, which is shorter than 

 the scale. Styles attached below the apex of the ovary. 



Lower empty glume l-nerved, upper 3-nerved. 1. B. piirgans. 



Lower empty glumes 3-nerved, upper 5-9-nerved. 



