GRASS FAMILY. III 
1. Syntherisma sanguinalis (L.) Nash. Large Crab-grass Finger-grass, 
(Fig. 240.) 
Panicum sanguinale I. Sp. Pl. 57. _ 1753. 
Digitaria sanguinalis Scop. Fl. Carn. Ed. 2, 1: 52. 
1772. 
Syntherisma praecox Walt. Fl. Car. 76. 1788. 
Paspalum sanguinale Lam. Tabl. Encycl. 1: 176. 1791. 
Syntherisma sanguinalis Nash, Bull. Torr, Club, 22: 
420. 1895. 
Culms erect or decumbent, often rooting at the 
lower nodes, 1°-3° long, smooth. Sheaths glab- 
rous or pubescent; leaves 2/6’ long, 2’/-4’’ wide, 
acuminate, glabrous or more or less pubescent ; 
spikes 3-10, narrowly linear, 2-6’ long, digitate 
or in approximate whorls at the summit of the 
culm; rachis flat, winged; spikelets 14/’/-1}2/’ 
long, in pairs, one sessile or nearly so, acute, 
lanceolate; first scale minute, rarely wanting, 
second one-third to one-half as long as the spikelet. 
In cultivated or waste places, throughout North 
America, except the extreme north. Naturalized from 
Europe. Widely distributed asa weed in all cultivated 
regions. July—Aug. 
2. Syntherisma linearis (Krock.) Nash. Small Crab-grass. (Fig. 241.) 
Panicum lineare Krock. Fl. Sil. 1:95. 1787. 
Syntherisma serotina Walt. Fl. Car. 76. 1788. 
Digitaria humifusa Pers. Syn. 1:85. 1805. 
Syntherisma glabra Schrad. Fl. Germ. 1: 163. 1806. 
Paspalum ambiguum DC. Fl. Gall. 123. 1806. 
Panicum glabrum Gaud. Agrost. 1:22. 1811. 
Syntherisma linearis Nash, Bull. Torr. Club, 22: 420. 
1895. 
Culms erect or decumbent, !4°-2° long, smooth 
and glabrous. Sheaths and leaves glabrous, the 
latter 1/—3’ long, 1//-2’’ wide, acuminate; spikes 
2-4, 2/-4’ long, narrowly linear, digitate or ap- 
proximate at the summit of the culm; rachis flat, 
winged ; spikelets about 1/’ long, in pairs, some- 
times in 3’s, one of them sessile or nearly so, el- 
liptic, acute; first scale rarely present, second and 
third as long as the fourth. 
In cultivated grounds and waste places, Nova Scotia 
to Ontario and Minnesota, south to Florida and Louisi- 
ana. Naturalized from Europe. July—Sept. 
3. Syntherisma filiformis (1,.) Nash. Slender Finger-grass. (Fig. 242.) 
4 
Panicum filiforme \,. Sp. Pl. 57. 175, 
Paspalum filiforme Sw. Prodr. 22. 1 J 
Syntherisma villosa Walt. F\. Car. 77. 1788. 
Digitaria filiformis Muhl. Gram, 131, 1817. 
Syntherisma filiformis Nash, Bull. Torr. Club, 22: 420. 
1895. 
Culms erect, 1°-4° tall, slender, smooth. Sheaths 
hirsute ; leaves 1/-8’ long, %4//—2’’ wide, erect, smooth 
or scabrous ; spikes 2-5, filiform, 1/-5’ long, approxi- 
mate at the summit of the culm, erect or nearly so; 
rachis 3-angled, very slender, not winged ; spikelets 
3{//-1”’ long, elliptic, pubescent, in pairs, occasionally 
in 3’s, one sessile or short-pedicelled; first scale rarely 
present; second three-fourths as long as or equalling 
the third, which is equal in length to the fourth. 
Dry sandy soil, Massachusetts to Michigan, south to 
Florida, Nebraska and Texas. July—Sept. 
