44 



GRASSES OF IOWA. 



both hemispheres. More abundant in America than in the eastern hemis- 

 phere. In South America they constitute an important part of the 

 herbs of the Pampas. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES OP PASPALUM. 

 Rachis much broader than the spikelets, spikes 3-7. P. membranaceum. 1 



Rachis narrower than the spikelets, spikes 1-3 P. ciliati folium. ' l 



1. PASPALUM MEMBRANACEUM. 

 Paspalum tnembranaceum Walt. Fl. Carol. 75. 1788. Scribner Bull. 

 U. vS. Dept. Agrl. Div. Agros. 17: 30. /. 326. 1899. Nash in Britton and 

 Brown. 111. Fl. 1: 106. /. 228. 



Paspalum lValttria?ium 

 Schultes. Mant. 2: 166. 

 1824. Vasey Contr. U. S. 

 Nat. Herb. 3: 16. Chap- 

 man Fl. S. St. 570. 



description. 



Walter's Paspalum. 

 A low creeping, semi- 

 aquatic grass, with much 

 branched, smooth stems 

 \ to 2\ feet long; short 

 flat leaves, and 2 to 6 

 small raceme | to | 

 inches long. Spikelets 

 ovate, obtuse, about 2 mm. 

 long, crowded in 2 rows 

 on one side of the broad 

 flat rachis which is I to 

 i^ lines (2-3 mm.) long. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



North America. Occurs 

 in moist or wet grounds 

 from New Jersey, Mary- 

 land, Tennessee, Illinois, 

 Missouri (St. Louis, Pam- 

 mel), possibly in south- 

 ern Iowa; south to Texas. 

 2 PA PALUM C1LIAT1FOLIUM. 

 Paspalum ciliatifolium Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1: 44. Nash in Britton and 

 Brown. 111. Fl. 1: 107. /. 232 1896. Scribner. Grasses of Tenn. Univ. 

 Tenn. Agrl. Exp. Sta. 7: 34. f. 22. 1894. 



Fig. 32. Paspalum membranaceum. —a, portion 

 of raceme; c and e, spikelets. (Div. of Agros. U. S. 

 Dept. of Agrl. ) 



