442 GRAMINACE^E. 



spikelets ovate-lanceolate, about 3-flowered ; flowers rather distant, hairy, 

 acute, very obscurely nerved. 



Woods and thickets. N. Eng. and N. Y. June, July. r l\.. Root creeping. 

 Culm 2 feet high, slender. Leaves narrow-linear, acute. Panicle 6 10 inches 

 long, the branches semiverticillate. Wood Meadow-grass.** 



7. P. laxa Hcenke : culms cespitose ; leaves narrow-linear, acute ; ligules 

 all lanceolate ; panicle contracted, somewhat nodding at the apex ; the 

 branches smooth, mostly in pairs ; spikelets ovate, about 3-flowered ; flowers 

 acute, hairy. ( Torr. N. Y. Fl.) 



Summit of Mount Marcy, Essex county, N. Y. Aug. %. Culms 6 8 inches 

 high, cespitose, very slender. Leaves numerous, glaucous, smooth. Panicle . 

 1 2 inches long, the branches flexuous. Allied to P. alpina. 



Wavy Meadow-grass. 



S. P. debilis Torr. : culm slender ; leaves and sheaths smooth ; ligule ob- 

 long, acute ; panicle loose, few-flowered, somewhat spreading ; the branches 

 mostly in pairs, flexuous, a little rough ; spikelets ovate, obtuse, 3-flowered ; 

 flowers smoothish ; lower palea oblong, obtuse, slightly 3-nerved. 



Rocky banks of streams. N. Y. May. 1\.. Culm about 2 feet high, erect, 

 smooth. Leaves pale green, rough on the margin. Panicle oblong, somewhat 

 contracted. Weak Meadow-grass. 



** Flowers free, or not webbed at base. 



9. P. annua Linn. : culm oblique, compressed ; panicle somewhat secund, 

 at length divaricate; spikelets ovate-oblong, about 5-flowered. 



Cultivated grounds. Can. to Car. April Sept. ' (I). Root fibrous. Culms 

 3 8 inches long, very smooth, cespitose, often nearly procumbent. Leaves lance- 

 linear, bright green. Panicle with the branches mostly solitary, at length 

 spreading horizontally. Annual Meadow-grass. 



10. P. capiUaris Linn. : culm much branched at base ; sheaths hairy at 

 the throat ; panicle very large, loose, expanding ; the branches capillary 

 and much divided ; spikelets about 3-flowered, ovate, acute. 



Sandy fields. Can. to Flor. Aug. (I). Culms 12 18 inches high, cespitose. 

 Leaves linear, flat, the sheaths fringed with long hairs. Panicle 8 12 inches 

 long, pyramidal, much branched. Hair-panicled Meadow-grass. 



11. P. Mrsuta Mich. : culm erect, simple, compressed; sheaths hairy; 

 panicle very large, capillary ; branches expanding, at length reflexed, 

 bearded in the axils ; spikelets oblong, 5 15-flowered ; upper palea ciliate 

 on the double keel. P. spectabilis Pursh. 



Sandy fields. N. Eng. and N. Y. to Geor. Aug., Sept. Q)\Culm 12 feet 

 high, stout, mostly simple. Leaves long, lanceolate, somewhat hairy near the 

 base. Panicle 8 15 inches long, very much branched, purplish. 



Hairy Meadow-grass. 



12. P. pilosa Linn. : culm oblique, geniculate ; leaves hairy at the base ; 

 panicle capillary, pyramidal, the lower branches hairy in the axils ; spike- 

 lets lance-linear, 5 12-flowered ; glumes very unequal ; upper palea per- 

 eistent. P. pectinacea Mich. P. tenella Pursh. 



Sandy soils, road sides, &c. N. Eng. and N. Y. to Car. July, Aug. (J> 

 Culms 6 12 inches high, cespitose. Leaves linear-lanceolate, fiat. Panicle 

 large, loose, often purplish. Slender Meadow-grass. 



13. P. reptans Mich. : dioecious ; culm branched, creeping ; panicle 



