58 



Fig. 52. PANICUM REPENS L. Sp. PI. ed. 2 : b7. 1762. CREEPING 

 PANIC— An extensively creeping, maritime grass 2-5 dm. (8'-20') high, with 

 stiff leaves and rigid, upright, flowering stems or branches, and more or less 

 open panicles 6-10 cm. (2^-4'} long. Spikelets (a, b, c) glabrous, ovate, acute, 

 2.5 mm. (1^") long; first glume broad and obtuse; the second and third glumes 

 acute, 7-nerved, and slightly exceeding the fourth or flowering glume (/). 

 A form with shorter and rather broader leaves and with the panicles densely 

 flowered is the variety confertum Vasey (P.gouini Fournier).— Sea beaches, 

 southern Alabama to Louisiana. (Tropical and subtropical coasts of both 

 hemispheres.) A good sand-binder. 



This grass is abundant on the .sandy islands lying off the Gulf coast, especially 

 on the outsides of the dunes, protecting them from the action of the winds 

 and waves. 



