162 



GRASSES OF IOWA. 



North America. From New England to New York, Pennsyl- 

 vania; Illinois (Graceland, Chicago, Pammel), Wisconsin (La Crosse, 

 D. S. Pammel and C. M. King), Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Ne- 

 braska (Clements, Grand Island, Broken Bow, Kearney, McCook 

 390, Crete 378, Pammel), Kansas (Camanche County, Carleton), 

 Ttexas (Nealley), New Mexico, (Organ Mountains, Vasey 105), 

 Colorado (Golden, Shear; Brighton, Pammel and Stanton; Alamosa, 

 Clements; Denver, Pammel; Northern Colorado, Soldier's Canon, 

 Crandall; Ft. Collins, Pammel) ; Wyoming (Laramie, Nelson) ; Mon- 

 tana, Washington, Manitoba, Saskatchewan to New Brunswick. 

 6. SPOROBOLUS HETEROLEPIS. 



Sporobolus heterolepis. Gray. Man. 576. 1848. Watson and Coulter in 

 Gray. Man. Bot. 646. 1890. (6th ed.) Beal Grasses of N. A. 2: 289. 1896. 

 Nash in Britton and Brown. 111. Fl. 1:155. /. 354 1896. Scribner. Bull. 

 U. S. Dept. Agrl. Div. Agros. 7: 127. /. 121. 1900. (3 ed.) Vasey. Contr. 

 U. S.Nat. Herb. 3: f2. 



Vilfa heterolepis. A. Gray. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 3: 233. 1835. Steud. 

 Synop. PI. Glum. 1. 157. 



DESCRIPTION. 



Strong-Scented Sporobo- 

 lus. A rather stout, somewhat 

 wiry, caespitose perennial, 2 to 

 3 feet (6-9 dm.) high, with 

 very long and narrow basal 

 leaves and loose, open panicles, 

 3 to 10 inches (7-25 cm.) long. 

 Spikelets 2 to i\ lines (4-5 

 mm.) long; outer glumes very 

 unequal, sharply acuminate- 

 pointed, the first about half 

 the length of the broader sec- 

 ond glume, which exceeds the 

 flowering glume in length ; 

 flowering glume glabrous, 

 acute or obtuse, as long as the 

 broad palea. In dry soils, 

 prairies, etc. August to Sep- 

 tember. 



Once common on high roll- 

 ing prairies. Considered a valu- 

 able forage plant. 



Fig. 116. Sporobohcs heterolepis— a. spike- 

 lets ;b, outer glumes; c, d, flowering glumes. 

 (Div. of Agros. U. S. Dept. Agrl.) 



