DESCRIPTIONS OF SOME COMMON WEEDS 



155 



smooth, scabrous or somewhat downy above; erect 

 spikes from three to ten inches long, bearing four to eight- 

 flowered spikelets; empty glumes from five to seven- 

 nerved, sometimes notched and short-awned or acute; 

 flowering glume nerved near the apex, awnless or short- 

 awned. Blooming period from August to October. This 

 grass has become naturalized on lawns and cultivated 

 grounds and is a very common wayside pest. 



Little Barley (Hordeum pusillum, Nutt.)- An annual 

 four to ten inches tall, with stems more or less jointed at 

 the lower nodes, the uppermost be- 

 ing often inflated, so as to inclose 

 the base of the spike ; leaf blade from 

 one to three inches long, usually 

 slightly pubescent on the lower sur- 

 face ; spikes narrow and from one to 

 three inches long ; empty glumes rigid, 

 the four internal glumes of each 

 group being dilated above the base, 

 those at the central spikelet sub- 

 lanceolate, all awn-pointed; outer 

 glumes of the imperfect, lateral 

 spikelets bristly; flowering glumes 

 of central spikelet awned, and florets 

 of the lateral glumes awnless. The 

 flowers appear from April to Au- 

 gust. This plant has been intro- 

 duced into the southern part of Iowa. 



Squirrel-tail Grass (Hordeum jubatum, L.). An annual 

 or winter annual, from six inches to two feet high with 

 fibrous roots, forming solid bunches with leaves not un- 

 like those of blue grass except in being paler; flowers ap- 

 pear in spikes two to four inches long, pale green or 

 purplish ; flowers with long awns which give it a bristly 

 appearance; when mature, spikes break into joints; 

 blooming period from June to August. Plant is propa- 



Fig. 94. Little barley 

 (Hordeum pusillum). 



