GRAMINEAE. 
1. Koeleria cristata (I,.) Pers. Koeleria. 
(Fig. 444.) 
Aira cristata I,. Sp. Pl. 63. 1753. 
Koeleria cristata Pers. Syn. 1:97. 1805. 
Koeleria nitida Nutt. Gen. 1: 74. 1818. 
Koeleria cristata var. gracilis A, Gray, Man. 591. 1848. 
Culms 1°-2%° tall, erect, simple, rigid, smooth, 
often pubescent just below the panicle. Sheaths 
often shorter than the internodes, smooth or sca- 
brous, sometimes hirsute; ligule %4’’ long; leaves 
1/-12/ long, %4’/-114’’ wide, erect, flat or invo- 
lute, smooth or rough, often more or less hirsute; 
panicle 1/-7’ in length, pale green, usually con- 
tracted or spike-like, the branches erect or rarely 
ascending, 1’ long or less; spikelets 2-5-flowered, 
2’//-3/’ long, the scales rough, acute, the empty ones 
unequal; flowering scales 114’/-2’’ long, shining. 
In dry sandy soil, especially on prairies, Ontario to 
British Columbia, south to Pennsylvania, Nebraska, 
Texas and California. Alsoin Europe and Asia. Very 
variable. July—Sept. 
68. CATABROSA Beauv. Agrost. 97. Al. zg. f. 8. 1812. 
A perennial grass, with soft flat leaves and an open panicle. Spikelets usually 2-flow- 
ered. Two lowerscales empty, thin-membranous, much shorter than the flowering ones, un- 
equal, rounded or obtuse at the apex; flowering scales membranous, erose-truncate. Palet 
barely shorter than the scale. Stamens 3. Styles distinct. Stigmas plumose. [Greek, in 
allusion to the erose top of the flowering scales. ] 
A monotypic genus of arctic and mountainous 
regions of the northern hemisphere. 
1. Catabrosa aquatica (L.) Beauv. 
Water Whorl-grass. (Fig. 445.) 
Aira aquatica I,. Sp. Pl. 64. 1753. 
Catabrosa aquatica Beauv. Agrost. 157, 1812. 
Smooth and glabrous, culms 4/—2° tall, erect, from 
a creeping base, bright green, flaccid. Sheaths 
usually overlapping, loose; ligule 114//-214’’ long; 
leaves 114’-5’ long, 1/’/-3’’ wide, flat, obtuse; pan- 
icle 1/-S’ in length, open, the branches whorled, 
spreading or ascending, very slender, %2’—2’ long; 
spikelets 114 ’/-134’’ long, the empty scales rounded 
or obtuse, the first about half as long as the second, 
which is crenulate on the margins; flowering scales 
1//-14/’ long, 3-nerved, erose-truncate at the apex. 
In water or wet soil, Labrador and Quebec to Alaska, 
south to Nebraska, Coloradoand Utah. Alsoin Europe 
and Asia. Summer. 
69. MELICA L,.. Sp. Pl. 66. 1753. 
Perennial grasses, with usually soft flat leaves and contracted or open panicles. Spike- 
lets 1-several-flowered, often secund, the rachilla extended beyond the flowers and usually 
bearing 2-3 empty club-shaped or hooded scales, convolute around each other. Two lower 
scales empty, membranous, 3-5-nerved; flowering scales larger, rounded on the back, 7—13- 
nerved, sometimes bearing an awn, the margins more or less scarious; palets broad, shorter 
than the scales, two-keeled. Stamens three. Styles distinct. Stigmas plumose. Grain 
free, enclosed in the scale and palet. [Name used by Theophrastus for Sorghum; said to be 
in allusion to the sweet culms of some species. ] 
About 30 species, inhabiting temperate regions. Besides the following, some 15 others occur 
in the Rocky Mountains and on the Pacific Coast. 
Second scale much shorter than the 3-5-flowered spikelets. 
Spikelets few; branches of the-panicle spreading or ascending. 1. M. diffusa, 
Spikelets usually numerous; branches of the panicle erect. 2. M. parvifiora. 
Second scale nearly equalling the 2-flowered spikelet. 3. MM. mutica. 
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