242 GRASSES OF IOWA. 



most flowers imperfect; flowering glumes three-nerved, aoruptly and 

 sharply acuminate-pointed. Palea broad, two-keeled, keels scabrous. 

 Grain about 3 lines (6 mm.) long, enlarged near the middle. Floral 

 glumes spreading in fruit. August to September. See figure 168 on 

 page 240. 



Dlarrhcna is widely distributed in the state. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



Iowa. Ames (Gossard and Rich, Pammel, Ball 137, Bessey, 

 Hitchcock, Carver, Fisher); Winterset 1060, Jewell Junction (Car- 

 ver); Decatur County (Fitzpatrick); Dakota City (Pammel); 

 Cherokee, Sioux City (Miss Wakefield); High Bridge, Dallas 

 County (Shimek); Johnson County (Miss Linder); Iowa City 

 (Macbride); Davenport (Parry). 



North America. Rich, rocky, wooded hillsides, Ohio (Colum- 

 bus, Sullivant; Lancaster, Dr. Bigelow), to South Dakota, 

 south to Georgia, Arkansas and Indian Territory, Missouri (Pacific, 

 Eggert). 



9. MELICA. 



Melica L. Sp. PI. 66. 1753. Endlicher Gen. PI. 100. Bentham and 

 Hooker. Gen. PI. 3; 1189. Hackel in Engler andPrantl. Nat. Pflanz. Fam. 

 II. 2: 70. f.Sl. [Scribner. Bull. U. S. Dept. Agr. Div. Agros. 20: 138. 

 /. 107. [Rev. ed.j^Beauv. Agrost. 68. pi. 14. f. 4. Kunth. Enum. 375. 

 tl. 1. 



Chrondrachyrum Nees. Lindl. Introd. Nat. Syst. 449. (2 ed.) 



Spikelets two to eight-flowered; the 1 to 3 upper flowers imperfect 

 and dissimilar, convolute around each other, and enwrapped by the 

 upper fertile flower. Empty glumes usually large, scarious margined, 

 convex, obtuse ; the upper 7 to Q-nerved. Flowering glume papery- 

 membranaceous, dry and sometimes indurated with age, rounded or 

 tlattish on the back, five to many-nerved, scarious at the entire blunt 

 summit. Stamens 3. Perennials, with soft, flat leaves. Panicle simple 

 or sparingly branched ; the rather large spikelets racemose, one-sided. 

 (An old Italian name for sorghum, from mel, honey.) 



Bentham & Hooker give the number of species at 30, while Hackel 

 gives the same number. Beal recognizes 12 species and 5 varieties for 

 North America. The genus is found chiefly in temperate regions of 

 Europe, Asia and America. One species :'s cultivated for ornamental 

 purposes. Most of our species of Melica are western. One species 

 extends as far north as southeastern Minnesota. 



