POACEAE 149 



api>ressed : spikelets 6-16-flowered, the nerves of the palet long-ciliate, the hairs exceeding 

 0.5 mm. in length. 



In waste places and cultivated ground, Georgia and Florida to Mississippi. Widely distributed in 

 tropical America. Summer and fall. 



18. Eragrostis plumosa Link. Annual. Stems densely tufted, ascending, slender, 

 1-4 dm. tall : leaf -sheaths usually ciliate on the margin and with a tuft of hairs at the apex ; 

 blades flat, spreading or ascending, 2-10 cm. long, 2-4 mm. wide : panicle open, usually 

 diffuse, oblong, 4-16 cm. long, its branches spreading or ascending : spikelets 4-8-flowered, 

 the nerves of the palet ciliate with hairs about 0. 2 mm. long. 



In cultivated ground and waste places, southern Georgia and Florida. Widely distributed in 

 tropical regions. Spring to fall. 



19. Eragrostis hypnoides (Lam.) B.S.P. Stems 2-5 dm. long, slender, creeping 

 and rooting at the nodes, branched : leaf-blades pubescent above, sometimes also below, 

 erect to spreading, commonly 1-4 cm. long, 1-2 mm. wide, flat, or sometimes involute : 

 panicle 1.5-5 cm. long : spikelets 10-35-flowered, 4-16 mm. long, the flowering scales 1.5-2 

 mm. long, glabrous, those of the pistillate spikelets more sharply acute than those of the 

 staminate. [/. reptans Nees.] 



Along shores, usually in sand or gravel, Vermont and Ontario to Oregon, Florida and Texas. Also 

 in tropical America. Summer and fall. 



20. Eragrostis capitata (Nutt.) Nash. Stems branching and creeping, rooting at 

 the nodes which send up branches 6-10 cm. long : leaf-sheaths, at least those on the 

 branches, pubescent : blades spreading or ascending, 1-3 cm. long, 1.5-3 mm. wide, flat, 

 lanceolate, pubescent : panicle 2-3 cm. long, nearly or quite as broad, oval : spikelets 

 crowded, clustered, 12-30-flowered, 6-14 mm. long. [Poa capitata Nutt.] 



In sandy, usually wet soil, Arkansas and Louisiana to Nebraska, New Mexico and Texas. Also in 

 Mexico. Summer. 



104. EATONIA Raf. 



Tufted perennial grasses, with flat or convolute leaf-blades and usually narrow and 

 contracted, or sometimes open panicles. Spikelets numerous, 2-3-flowered, shining. Scales 

 4 or 5, membranous, the 2 outer empty, the first very narrow, 1-nerved, acuminate, the 

 second much broader, obovate when spread out, obtuse, truncate, and sometimes apiculate 

 at the apex, 3-nerved, the remaining scales narrower, obtuse or somewhat acute ; palet 

 narrow, 2-nerved. Stamens 3. Styles distinct, short. Stigmas plumose. 



Empty scales usually unequal, the first commonly shorter and not more than 1/5 



as wide as the second. 

 Second scale obovate in side view, rounded at the summit. 



Leaf-sheaths, blades and stems glabrous. 1. E. obtusata. 



Leaf-sheaths, and often the blades and stems softly pubescent. 2. E. pubescens. 



Second scale oblanceolate in side view, acute or acutish at the apex. 



Basal leaf-blades long, slender, involute, at least when dry, usually equal- 

 ling or sometimes exceeding the stems. 3. E.filiformis. 

 Basal leaf-blades short, broad, flat, many times shorter than the stems. 



Spikelets 3-3.5 mm. long. 4. E. Pennsylvania. 



Spikelets 4-5 mm. long. . 5. E. longiflora. 



Empty scales usually equal, the first at least % as broad as the second. 



Leaf-sheaths and blades softly pubescent. 6. E. nitida. 



Leaf-sheaths and blades glabrous. 7. E. glabra. 



1. Eatonia obtusata (Michx. ) A. Gray. Stems 3-8 dm. tall, often stout: leaf- 

 sheaths and blades usually rough, the latter flat, 2.5-23 cm. long, 1-5 mm. wide, rarely 

 wider : panicle 5-15 cm. long, dense and usually spike-like, strict, sometimes purple, its 

 branches erect : spikelets crowded, 2. 5-3 mm. long. 



In dry soil, Massachusetts and Ontario to Assiniboia, Florida and Arizona. Summer. 



2. Eatonia pubescens Scribn. & Mer. A tufted perennial, with the leaf-sheaths, 

 back of the ligule and lower part of the stem softly and densely pubescent. Stems 3-8 dm. 

 tall : leaf -blades 5 -18 cm. long, 3-6 mm. wide, glabrous, or often softly pubescent : panicle 

 5-20 cm. long : spikelets 2.5-3.5 mm. long. 



In dry soil, Pennsylvania to Georgia and Texas. Spring and summer. 



3. Eatonia filiformis (Chapm. ) Vasey. Stems densely tufted, slender, 2.5-8 dm. 

 tall : leaf-blades narrow, slender, involute, at least when dry, the stem-blades 2, usually 

 less than 6 cm. long : panicle 6-12 cm. long, slender, often nodding at the apex : spike- 

 lets 3.5-4 mm. long. 



In dry soil, South Carolina and Tennessee to Florida and Texas. Spring. 



4. Eatonia Pennsylvania (DC.) A. Gray. Stems 3-9 dm. tall: leaf-blades 6-18 

 cm. long, 2-6 mm. wide, rough : panicle 7-18 cm. long, often nodding at the summit, lax : 

 spikelets 3-3.5 mm. long, the flowering scales narrow, acute. 



In hilly woods or moist soil, New Brunswick to British Columbia, Georgia and Texas. Summer. 



