174 GRAMINEAE. 
1. Danthonia spicata (I,.) Beauv. Common Wild Oat-grass. (Fig. 397.) 
Avena spicata I,. Sp. Pl. 80. 1753. 
Danthonia spicata Beauy.; R. & S, Syst. 2: 690. 1817. 
Culms 1°-214° tall, erect, simple, smooth and gla- 
brous, nearly terete. Sheaths shorter than the in- 
ternodes, glabrous or often sparingly pubescent be- 
low; ligule very short; leaves rough, 1/’ wide or 
less, usually involute, the lower 4/-6’ long, the 
upper 1/-2’ long; inflorescence racemose or pan- 
iculate, 1/-2’ in length, the pedicels and branches 
erect or ascending; spikelets 5-8-flowered; empty 
scales 4//-5’’ long, glabrous; flowering scales 
broadly oblong, sparingly pubescent with appressed 
silky hairs, the teeth about 14’’ long, acute or short- 
pointed, the bent and widely spreading awn closely 
twisted at the base, loosely so above. 
In dry soil, Newfoundland to Quebee and Dakota, 
south to North Carolina and Louisiana. Ascends to 
3000 ft. in Virginia. July—Sept. 
2. Danthonia compréssa Austin. Flattened Wild Oat-grass. (Fig. 398.) 
Danthonia compressa Austin; Peck, Rept. Reg. N. Y. 
State Univ. 22:54. 1869. 
Danthonia Allent Austin, Bull. Torr. Club, 3: 21. 1872. 
Culms 114°-3° tall, erect, slender, simple, flattened, 
smooth and glabrous. Sheaths shorter than the inter- 
nodes; ligule pilose; leaves 1’’ wide or less, rough, lax, 
the basal from one-third to one-half the length of the 
culm; lower culm leayes 6/8’ long, the upper 3/-6/; 
panicle open, 2'4’—4’ in length, the lower branches 
generally spreading; spikelets 5-10-flowered; empty 
scales 5/’-6’” long, glabrous; flowering scales oblong, 
with a ring of short hairs at base, pubescent with ap- 
pressed silky hairs, the awn erect or somewhat bent, 
strongly twisted below, slightly so above, the teeth 
1//-1 4’ long, acuminate, awned. 
In woods, Maine and Vermont to North Carolina and 
Tennessee. Ascends to 6000 ft. in North Carolina. July- 
Sept. 
3. Danthonia sericea Nutt. Silky Wild Oat-grass. (Fig. 399.) 
Danthonia sericea Nutt. Gen. 1:71. 1818. 
Culms 1 14°-3° tall, simple, glabrous. Sheaths shorter 
than the internodes, usually villous; ligule pilose; 
leaves rough and more or less villous, 1/’—114’’ wide, 
the basal one-quarter to one-half the length of the 
culm, usually flexuous, those of the culm 17-4’ long, 
erect; panicle 214’-414’ in length, contracted, the 
branches erect or ascending; spikelets 4—10-flowered; 
empty scales 7/’-8’’ long, glabrous; flowering scales 
oblong, strongly pubescent with long silky hairs, the 
/ awn erect or somewhat bent, closely twisted below, 
loosely so above, the teeth 1/’-114’ long, acuminate, 
awned. 
In dry sandy soil, Massachusetts to New Jersey, south 
to Florida, May-July. 
