a. 4 
GRASS FAMILY. 135 
6. Aristida lanata Poir. Woolly Aristida. (Fig. 302.) 
Aristida lanata Poir. in Iam. Encycl. Suppl. 1: 453. 
IS10. 
Aristida lanosa Muhl. Gram. 174. 1817. 
Culms 2°-4° tall, erect, simple, smooth and glab- 
rous. Sheaths longer than the internodes, 
crowded at the base of the culm, woolly; ligule 
very short, minutely ciliate; leaves 1° long or 
more, about 2’ wide, attenuate into a long 
slender point, smooth beneath, scabrous above; 
panicle 1°-2° long, strict, branches erect or occa- 
sionally somewhat spreading; outer scales of the 
spikelet awn-pointed, the first 5’’-7’’ long, exceed- 
ing the second; third scale slightly shorter than 
the second, middle awn 8’/-12” long, usually hori- 
zontal, the lateral awns about two-thirds as long, 
erect or divergent. ° 
Dry sandy soil, Delaware to Florida, west to Texas. 
Aug.-Sept. 
7. Aristida oligantha Michx. Few-flowered Aristida. (Fig. 303.) 
Aristida oligantha Michx, Fl. Bor. Am. 1: 41. 1803. 
Glabrous, culms 1°—2° tall, erect, slender, dichot- 
omously branched, smooth or roughish. Sheaths 
exceeding the internodes, loose ; ligule very short, 
minutely ciliate; leaves 1/-6’ long, %4’/-1’’ wide, 
smooth, the larger ones attenuate into a long slen- 
der point ; spikelets few, borne in a lax spike-like 
raceme or panicle; first scale 5-nerved, occasion- 
ally 7-nerved at base, acuminate or short-awned, 
equalling or somewhat shorter than the second, 
which bears an awn 2/’-4’’ long; third scale shorter 
than the first, awns divergent or spreading, the 
middle one 114/-2!4’ long, the lateral somewhat 
shorter. 
Dry soil, New Jersey and Maryland to Nebraska, 
south to Louisiana and Texas. Aug.—Sept. 
8. Aristida purpurea Nutt. Purple Aristida. (Fig. 304.) 
Aristida purpurea Nutt. Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. (II.) , ¥ ; 
5: 145. 1833-37. 
Glabrous, culms 87-18’ tall, erect, slender, sim- 
ple, smooth or rough. Sheaths usually shorter 
than the internodes, smooth or slightly scabrous; 
ligule short, ciliate; leaves 1'4’—4/ long, 1%4’’ wide, 
involute, at least when dry, generally scabrous ; 
spikelets few in spike-like racemes or panicles 
which are 4/—S’ in length; first scale one-nerved or 
sometimes with an obscure additional nerve on 
each side; second scale 7’/’-9’’ long, about twice as 
long as the first; third scale equalling or a little 
exceeding the first, awns divergent, the middle one 
1-34’ long, the lateral ones a little shorter or 
of the same length. 
Dry soil, Minnesota to Idaho and British Columbia, 
south to Kansas, Texas and Arizona, Plant purple or 
purplish. July-Sept. 
