214 GRAMINEAE. 
82. PUCCINELLIA Parl. Fl. Ital. 1: 366. 1848. 
Perennial grasses, with flat or involute leaves and contracted or open panicles. Spike- 
lets 3-several-flowered. JI,ower scales empty, obtuse or acute, unequal; flowering scales ob- 
tuse or acute, rounded on the back, 5-nerved, the nerves very obscure or almost wanting. 
Palet about equalling the scale. Stamens 3. Styles wanting. Stigmas sessile, simply plu- 
mose. Grain compressed, usually adhering to the palet. [Name in honor of Benedetto 
Puccinelli, Italian botanist. ] 
About 14 species, in all temperate regions. 
Panicle open, its branches spreading or ascending, rarely erect. 
Lower flowering scales 1s''-2'' long; plant stoloniferous. 1. P. maritima. 
Lower flowering scales 1\'' long or less; plants not stoloniferous. 
Second empty scale less than half the length of the flowering scales, broad, obtuse or 
truncate; spikelets crowded. 2. P. distans. 
Second empty scale more than half the length of the flowering scales, narrow, obtuse or 
acute; spikelets not crowded. 3. P. atroides. 
Panicle contracted, its branches erect, rarely ascending; northern species. 4. P. angustata. 
1. Puccinellia maritima (Huds. ) 
Parl. Goose-grass. Sea Spear- 
grass. (Fig. 493.) 
Poa maritima Huds. Fl. Angl. 35. 1762. 
Glyceria maritima M. & K. Deutsch. Fl. 1: 
588. 1823. 
Puccinellia maritima Parl. Fl. Ital. 1: 370. 1848. 
Stoloniferous, smooth, glabrous, culms 
6/-2° tall, erect, or decumbent at the base, 
simple. Sheaths usually exceeding the in- 
ternodes; ligule %%4’/-1’’ long; leaves 1/5’ 
long, 1’’ wide or less, flat to involute; pan- 
icle 2/-6’ in length, open, the branches as- 
cending, or rarely erect, 1/—-2’ long; spikelets 
3-10-flowered, 3/’-6’’ long; empty scales un- 
equal, the first usually 1-nerved, the second 
3-nerved; flowering scales 114’/-2’’ long, 
broad, obtuse or truncate. 
In salt marshes and on sea beaches, Nova 
Scotia to Rhode Island. Also on the Pacific 
coast, and on the coasts of Europe and Asia. 
uly—Aug. 
2. Puccinellia distans (L.) Parl. Spreading Meadow-grass. (Fig. 494.) 
Poa distans I,. Mant. 32. 1767. 
Glyceria distans Wahl. Fl. Ups. 36. 1820. 
Puccinellia distans Parl. F1. Ital. 1: 367. 1848. 
Culms 1°—2° tall, erect, or sometimes de- 
cumbent at the base, tufted, smooth and gla- 
brous. Sheaths often shorter than the inter- 
nodes, smooth and glabrous; ligule %%//—-1/’ 
long; leaves %’-6’ long, 1/’—2’’ wide, flat or 
folded, usually stiff and erect, smooth be- 
neath; panicle 2’—7’ in length, open, rarely 
contracted, the branches spreading or ascend- 
ing, whorled, the lower 1/-4!4’ long, some- 
times reflexed; spikelets crowded, 3-6-flow- 
ered, 114’’-2%3’’ long; empty scales obtuse 
or acute, I-nerved, the second exceeding the 
first and less than half the length of the ob- 
scurely nerved and obtuse flowering scales, 
which are 33’’-1’’ long. 
On salt meadows, sea beaches and in waste 
places, Nova Scotia to New Jersey. Probably 
naturalized from Europe. July-Aug. 
