OO 
GRASS FAMILY. 139 
5. Stipa spartea Trin. Porcupine Grass. 
(Fig. 313.) 
ak spartea Trin. Mem. Acad. St. Petersb. (VI.) 1: 82. 
1831. 
Culms glabrous, 2°-4° tall, erect, simple, smooth. 
Sheaths longer than the internodes, smooth or some- 
what scabrous; ligule 1/’-2’’ long, obtuse; leaves 
smooth beneath, scabrous above, the basal one-third 
to one-half as long as the culm, 1’’ wide or less, usually 
involute, those of the culm 6/12’ long, about 2/’ 
wide, generally flat, attenuate into a long slender 
point; panicle finally long-exserted, 4-10’ in length, 
its branches 3/6’ long, erect, naked below; outer. 
scales of spikelet 12’/-18’’ long, acuminate into a long 
slender point, glabrous; third scale 7’/-12’ long, callus 
acute; awn 4’-S’ long, stout, usually twice bent, 
tightly spiral and pubescent below, doubly spiral 
about the middle. 
On prairies, Manitoba to British Columbia, south to Illinois and Kansas. June-July. 
23. ORYZOPSIS Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1: 51. —-1803. 
[URACHNE Trin. Fund. Agrost. 109. 1818. ] 
Usually tufted grasses, with flat or convolute leaves and paniculate inflorescence. Spike- 
lets 1-flowered, broad. Scales 3; the two lower about equal, obtuse or acuminate; the third 
scale shorter or a little longer, broad, bearing a terminal awn which is early deciduous, 
the callus at the base of the scale short and obtuse, or a mere scar. Stamens 3. Styles dis- 
tinct. Stigmas plumose. Grain oblong, free, tightly enclosed in the convolute scale. 
[Greck, in allusion to the supposed resemblance of these grasses to rice. ] 
About 24 species, distributed through temperate and subtropical regions, rarely extending into 
the tropics. Besides the following, some 7 others occur in the western parts of North America. 
Third scale of the spikelet glabrous or sparingly pubescent with short appressed hairs. 
Spikelet, exclusive of awn, 1%''-2'’ long. oe 
Awn less than 1’’ long, much shorter than the scale ; outer scales 114'’-2'' in length. 
I. O. Juncea. 
Awn 3''-4'' long, more than twice as long as the scale ; outer scales about 1%'’ in length. 
2. O. micrantha, 
Spikelet, exclusive of awn, 3'’-4'’ long. ? ch 
Culms nearly naked, leaves all crowded at the base; panicle 2'-3' long, its branches 1’ in 
length or less, erect. 3. O. asperifolia. 
Culms leafy to the top; panicle 6'-12' long; branches 2/-4’ in length, more or less spreading. 
4. O. melanocarpa. 
Third scale of the spikelet densely pubescent with long silky hairs. 5. O. cuspidata. 
1. Oryzopsis jancea (Michx.) B.S.P. Slender Mountain Rice. (Fig. 314.) 
Stipa Juncea Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1: 54. 1803. 
Oryzopsis Canadensis Torr. Fl. N. Y. 2: 433. 1843. 
Oryzopsis juncea B.S. P. Prel. Cat. N. Y. 67. 1888. 
Culms glabrous, 6/-2° tall, erect, slender, simple, 
smooth. Sheaths shorter than the internodes, usually 
crowded at the base of the culm; ligule about 1’ long, 
decurrent; leaves smooth or scabrous, erect, involute, 
the basal about one-half the length of the culm, occa- 
sionally equalling it, filiform, those of the culm 1/4’ 
long, the uppermost often very small or reduced to 
the sheath only; panicle 1/-2'4’ long, the branches 
%4/-1/ in length, erect or ascending, the lower half 
naked; spikelets 114’’-2’” long, the outer scales about 
equal, glabrous, whitish; third scale about the same 
length or a little longer, pubescent with short ap- 
pressed silky hairs, the awn less than 1/’ long. 
In dry rocky places, Quebec to British Columbia, south 
to Massachusetts, Pennsylvaniaand Wisconsin. May-June. 
