1918] The Grasses of Illinois 363 



two-flowered, the lower flower perfect, the iipper staminate. The 

 glumes and lemmas are thick, the palea very thin. The inflorescence 

 is in dense panicles shaped something like those of Agrostis. The entire 

 plant is covered with short, soft pubescence, hence the name velvet 

 grass. 



Notholcus lanatus (L.) Nash 

 Velvet Grass. Meadow Soft Grass (Fig. 180) 



Holcus lanains, Gray's Manual, 7th cd.; Britton '07, 115. 



Entire plants light green and velvety ; culms 1 to 3 feet tall ; sheaths 

 shorter than the internodes; blades 1 to 6 inches long, 4 to 12 mm. 

 wide, ligule membranous, 2 to 3 mm. long ; spikelets flattened, about 

 4 mm. long, pubescent, the glumes longer than the lemmas. 



This grass is perennial. It grows best in moist places, and will 

 thrive in very poor soil. It is a rather pretty species, with its pale 

 green foliage and pink-tinted panicles but it is not regarded as a valu- 

 able forage grass in most places where it has been introduced. In 

 some parts of the West, however, it is much liked. 



CHAMPAIGN CO. Urbana, Biirrill, June, 1891. 



33. SPHENOPHOLIS Scribn. 



These grasses are tall, slender, tufted perennials with narrow pan- 

 icles. The leaves are flat, usually very narrow ; the ligule is membra- 

 nous, fringed with fine hairs, and from 2 to 4 mm, long. The species 

 are most easily determined by the shape of the glumes, the first being 

 very narrow and pointed, the second much broader, obovate or wedge- 

 shaped. The spikelets are 2- to 3-flowered, and longer than the glumes. 



Second glume almost as broad as long, broadly obtuse or truncate at the apex, 

 nearly equal in length to the first. S. obtusata 



Second glume not nearly so broad as long, acute or narrowly obtuse at the end, 

 longer than the first. S. pallens 



Sphenopholis obtusata (Michx.) Scribn. 

 Blunt-scaled Sphenopholis (Fig. 181) 



Eatonia ohtusata, Lapham '57, 546, 575 (Plate 2, Fig. 10) ; Patterson '76, 50; 

 Plagg '78, 281; Brendel '87, 63; Higley and Eaddin '91, 143; Huett '97, 130. 



Culms 1 to 3 feet tall, smooth ; leaves mostly clustered at the base 

 of the plant, sheaths rough, often pubescent; blades 1.5 to 6 inches 

 long, 2 to 6 mm. wide, slightly rough ; panicle densely flowered, 2 to 6 

 inches long, often so narrow as to appear spike-like; spikelets 2.5 to 

 3 mm. long, the glumes strongly nerved and rough except on the 

 smooth, shiny margin; lemmas similar in texture to the glumes; palea 

 thin and transparent. 



This species is found in dry soil. It was one of the species of the 

 original prairie and is still found in many places in the state. 



