GRASSES OF IOWA. 403 



throughout North America on the plains and in sandy soil. The F. 

 nutans is a woodland species of eastern North America and the Missis- 

 sippi Valley, while the F. Shortii is somewhat more limited in its distri- 

 bution, found in Low swales and meadows. 



Schedonnardus paniculatus and Buchloe dactyloides are essentially 

 species of the plains east of the Rocky Mountain region. The former ex- 

 tends from New Mexico and Texas to Assiniboia, reaching northeastern 

 Iowa and southeastern Minnesota and Arkansas; the latter has a some- 

 what similar range though extending to Mexico and Arizona. The Bou- 

 teloua oligostachya ranges with the Buchloe, excepting that it ranges 

 westward to southern California and east to Wisconsin. The Bouteloua 

 hirsuta extends to Mexico and east to the Mississippi Valley. The 11. 

 ctirtipendula extends from Mexico nearly to the Atlantic coast. The 

 Phragmites vulgaris is cosmopolitan; common in Europe and Asia; also 

 found in Australia, common in Iowa and the northern Mississippi Valley 

 to Kansas and Mexico. The genus Eragrostis is cosmopolitan, chiefly 

 tropical. The E. major, a common, introduced weed, occurs in Europe 

 and Africa. The K. reptans is common in the Mississippi Valley extend- 



lastward to New England, also in Trinidad and Buenos Ayres. 



The genus Sporobolus is tropical. The species found in Iowa are 

 common southward. The S. heterolepis reaches its best development on 

 the prairies from Minnesota to Teaxs. The genus Muhlenbergia at- 

 tains its greatest development in the southwest, extending to the Andes 

 of South America. Some species also occurring in Asia (Japan and the 

 Himalayas). The .1/. diffusa, M. tenuiflora, M. Mexicana, and M. 

 racemosa are common in the Mississippi Valley to the Atlantic coast. 



The Stipas are largely developed on the plains and steppes. Our 

 most common species, the S. spartea is common in the northern Missis- 

 sippi Valley east to Michigan, Canada, Missouri to Colorado and 

 the Dakotas. The maximum development is attained from Minnesota 

 west to Wisconsin and Nebraska. The S. comata is western, but has 

 made its way into Iowa along the Missouri, its range is much, wider than 

 the preceding. The S. vifidula is an introduced species abundant from 

 New Mexico to British America. Idle genus Eeersia is represented in 

 the state of Iowa by three species. Two of these, L. oryzoides and L. 

 Virginica are common throughout eastern North America. The L. lent't- 

 cularis, a sub-tropical species, reaches as far north as Lansing on the Mis- 

 sissippi river, and to Virginia on the Atlantic coast. The L. oryzoides has 

 been widely naturalized in the old world, especially in southern Europe, 

 temperate Asia, and north Africa. It is, however, an American species. 



