FESTUCEiE. 551 



Loosely tufted, erect from u decumbent base, 40-120 cm. high; 

 no creeping rootstocks. Ligule 4-5 mm. long; blades of sterile 

 shoots 3-8 cm. long, soon fading, those of the culm 5-6, erect, soft 

 and smooth or scabrous, flat or conduplicate, pungent, acuminate,. 

 7-15 cm. long, 2.5-3 mm. wide. Panicle ample, oblong or pyram- 

 idal, at length nodding, 20-35 cm. long, rays scabrous in half- 

 whorls of 4-10, some of the lower sets of rays 5-7 cm. distant, the 

 longest 10-15 cm. long, branching freely, bearing numerous scat- 

 tered spikelets on tlie upper half or three-fifths. Spikelets sliort- 

 pedicelled, often tinged with violet and brown, elliptical or linear- 

 lanceolate, 2-5-flowered, a long joint of rachilla about 0.5 mm. long; 

 empty glumes subequal, 3-nerved, first ovate-lanceolate, second 

 oval-lanceolate, 2.3-3.7 mm. long; floral glume sparingly webbed at 

 base, and thinly pubescent on the lateral nerves and lower half of 

 the keel, 2.3-2.5 nmi. long, apex often tinged with yellowish 

 brown, elliptical, obtuse or subacute when spread, though appear- 

 ing acute when closed, obscurely nerved; pulea almost as long as its 

 glume, linear, scabrid on the keels. 



New Hampshire, E. Faxon 9 ; Massachusetts, E. L. Sturtevanty 

 Beal 128; New York (Buffalo), Clinton for ClAvk 1685; Michigan, 

 Cooley, Clark 714, Beal 130, 131, Wheeler, Farwell; Illinois, Beal 

 129; Iowa, Hitchcoch; Minnesota, Artlmr X 6, B 183, B 426, B 510; 

 Colorado, Cassidy; South Dakota, Diiffeij; Washington, Lake; 

 Oregon, Howell. 



Wet or moist ground, Canada, New England, Alaska, Pennsyl- 

 vania, Colorado. 



For a further account see Vol. I. p. 140, Fig. 68, under P^ 

 serotina. 



Colonel Monroe, the most acute agrostologist of liis day,, 

 placed this with P. nemoralis L., while Crisebach, Fries, A. Gray,, 

 and Anderson keep it distinct. See Dr. J. D. Hooker, on Distri- 

 bution of Arctic Plants, Trans. Linn. Soc. vol. 23, 1860. ]\[onroe- 

 observes that stunted or arctic specimens of P. nemoralis L., P. 

 serofina Ehrh., P. ccesia Sm.,if not identical are extremely difficult 

 to distinguish the one from the other. 



36. P. flavicans Ledb. Fl. Koss. 4: 373 (1853). 



