281 



Fig. 275. POA SYLVESTRIS A. Gray, Man. Bot. 596. 1848. WOODLAND 

 SPEAR-GRASS.— A .slender, tufted perennial 3-9 dm. {l°-3°) high, with open 

 panicles 10-15 cm. (4'-6') long, the branches spreading or reflexed. Sheaths 

 shorter than the internodes; ligule 1 mm. (i") long or less; leaf-blades smooth 

 beneath, scabrous above, 2-6 mm. {V'-S") wide, those of the culm 3-15 cm. (li'-6') 

 long, the basal ones much longer. Spikelets (a) 2 to 4 flowered, 2-4 mm. (l"-2") 

 long; empty glumes acute, the first 1-nerved, the second longer and 3-nerved: 

 flowering glumes {b) about 2.5 mm. m") long, webbed at the base, obtuse, 

 often pubescent below, 5-nerved, the midnerve pubescent throughout.— Rich 

 woods and thickets, New York to Wisconsin and Nebraska, south to North 

 Carolina, Louisiana, and Texas. April to July. 



