144 



GRASSES OF IOWA. 



2. ORYZOPSIS CUSPIDATA. 



Oryzopsis cuspidata Bentham. Vasey. U. S. Dept. Agrl. Sp. Report 

 63: 23.. 1883. Nash in Britton and Brown. 111. Fl. 1: 141. / 318. Scribner 

 Bull. U. S. Dept. Agrl. Div. Agros. 7: 103. /. 97. (3d ed.) 



Stipamemhranacea Pursh. Fl. Am. Sept. 2: 728. 1814. 



Eriocoma cuspidata Nutt. Gen. 1: 40. 1818 



Oryzopsis membranacea Vasey. Bull. U. S. Dept. Agrl. Div. Bot 12: 

 10. pL 10. 1891. Contr. U. S. Nat. Herb. 3: 56. 



Fendleria rhychelytroides . Steud. Syn. PI. Glum. 1: 19. 1855. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Indian Millet. A tough 

 perennial, growing in 

 bunches, i to 2| feet (3-7 

 dm.) high, with narrow, in- 

 volute leaves, and dichoto- 

 mously branched, diffuse 

 panicles, 5 to 6^ inches (12- 

 15 cm.) long. Spikelets, 3 

 to 4 lines (6-8 mm.) long, 

 on filiform and flexuous pedi- 

 cels; empty glumes pubescent, 

 3 to 5-nerved, broad and ven- 

 tricose below, attenuate- 

 pointed, much longer than 

 the densely long-hairy, and 

 broadly oval flowering 

 glume; awn about 2 lines (4 

 mm.) long, readily falling 

 off. The hairs finally fall 

 from the flowering glume, 

 which becomes very hard, 

 th and shiny. 



Fig. Hi', Oryzopsis cuspidata — a, spikelet; b 

 flowering glume. (Div. of Agros, U. S. Dept. Agrl.) 



