GRASSES OF IOWA. 



129 



Utah (Salt Lake, Pammel, 188) ; Oregon, Washington (Douglass 

 County, Sandberg and Leiberg), California (Lemmon), and Arizona. 



3. STIPA SPARTEA. 



Stipa spartea Trin. Mem. Acad. St. Petersb. VI. 1: 82. 1831. Wat- 

 son and Coulter. Gray. Man. Bot. 641. 1890. (6th ed.) Beal. Grasses of 

 N. A. 2: 215. 1S96. Vasey. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 53. Nash in Brit- 

 ton and Brown. 111. Fl. 1: 139. /. 313. 1896. Scribner. Am. Grasses. 

 Bull. U. S. Dept. -grl. Div. Agros. 7: 95. /. 89. 1900. (3d ed ) 



DESCRIPTION. 



Porcupine Grass. A 



stout, erect perennial, with 

 simple culms 3 to 5 

 feet (0-10 dm.) high; 

 long, narrow leaves and 

 contracted, few-flowered 

 panicles, 4 to 8 inches (10- 

 20 cm.) long. Spikelets 

 larger; empty glumes sub- 

 ulate-pointed, 12 to 18 

 lines (24-36 mm.) long, 

 slightly unequal ; flowering 

 glume 8 to 10 lines (16- 

 20 mm.) long, including 

 the barbed and very sharp- 

 pointed stipe or callus, 

 sparsely pubescent below 

 anil crowned with a few- 

 short hairs; palea nearly 

 as long as the glume ; awn 

 stout, 3 to 6 inches (8-15 

 cm.) long, twisted below 

 and twice geniculate above. 

 June to August. 



Porcupine grass is com- 

 mon on dry, gravelly roads 

 ami high prairies. 



Via. 94. Stipa spartea— a, a single spikelet ■; b, 

 floret more highly magnified, with sharp pointed 

 bearded callus. (Div. Agros. U. S. Dept. Agrl. ) 



