26 PANIC ACE^. 



Seldom flowering in the United States, Propagated by plant- 

 ing the cnlms in furrows. Introduced from tropical Asia. • 



8. (76). Erianthus Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1 : 54 (1803). Ri- 

 pidium Trin. Fund. Agrost. 169 (1820), Spodiopogon Fourn. 



Spikelets in pairs on each joint of the slender racliis, one sessile, 

 the other pedicellate; otherwise alike. Glumes 4, the 2 outer 

 membranous, often firm, subequal, empty, first 4-6-nerved (9 in E. 

 striatus), often 2-toothed, second many-nerved, third shorter, hya- 

 line, empty; fourth or floral glume hyaline, setaceous, or bearing 

 a straight or twisted awn; palea hyaline, smaller. Stamens 3. 

 Styles distinct. Grain oblong, enclosed, but not adherent. 



Tall often reedlike grasses with flat oi- convolute leaf-blades. 

 Panicle terminal, narrow and dense or somewhat spreading, some- 

 times one-sided, often clothed with numerous hairs. Eriantlius is 

 intermediate between Saccharum and Pollinia. 



Species 12, widely spread over the warmer regions of Europe, 

 China, Japan and North America. 



Spikelets 4-5 mm. long 1 



'' 6 mm. long 2 



" 7 mm. long 3 



'- 10 mm. long 4 



1. E. EAVEifN^ {L.) Beauv. Agrost. 14 (1812). Woolly beard 

 GRASS. Andropogon Ravemim L. Sp. PI. Ed. 2, 1481 (1763). 

 Saccharum Ravennm L. Syst. Yeg. Ed. 13, 88 (1774). 



Culms 2-3 m. high, reedlike, glabrous. Sheaths smooth; 

 ligule short, pilose ; the lower blades hairy, very narrow, grooved on 

 the upper side, 1-2 m. long. Panicle 30-60 cm. long, 15-20 cm. 

 wide when in flower. Spikelets 5 mm. long, these as well as their 

 pedicels clothed with hairs about their own length ; glumes nearly 

 equal, ovate-lanceolate, 3-nerved, third hyaline, oval, acuminate, 4-5 

 mm. long, 1-nerved; floral glume broad-oval, hyaline, 3 mm. long, 

 3-nerved with a straight awn about 5 mm. long; palea ovate, acute, 

 hyaline, nerveless, 2 mm. long. Lodicules 0.6-0.7 mm. long. 

 Stamens 3. 



Introduced into cultivation from Europe for its stately appear- 

 ance in gardens. 



