G93 



ALPINE TIMOTHY 



Phlo'um alpi'num 



Stalks (culms) erect, 6 to 24 in. tall, 

 simple, smooth, hairless, not swollen but 

 often bending or somewhat creeping at 

 base 



Leaves flat, short (up to 6 in. long), 

 up to % in. wide, smooth on under sur- 

 face, harsh to the touch above; lower 

 eaves usually longer than upper ones 



Leaf sheaths usually shorter than 

 space between joints of stem ; upper ones 

 inflated 



Flower head (panicle) dense, spike- 

 like, egg-shaped or oblong, short (}{ to 

 2 in. long), 1} to 3 times as long as wide, 

 usually purplish 



Roots fibrous 



Individual flower group (spikelet) 

 1-flowered, small, somewhat flattened 



Lowest (2) spikelet bracts (glumes) 

 persistent, usually equal, about l / s in. 

 long, thin, hairy-fringed on keel, 

 abruptly bristled (awned) from slanting 

 summit; awns up to }'% in. long 



Outer flower bract (lemma) shorter 

 than glumes, thin-papery, awnless, 

 blunt and slightly toothed on summit, 

 3- to 5-nerved 



Inner flower bract (palea) nearly as 



long as lemma, narrow, thin-papery 



Alpine timothy, also known as mountain timothy and wild timothy, is the 

 only species of Phleum known to be native to North America. It is a small 

 sister species of the well-known cultivated timothy (P. pratense) which was 

 supposedly introduced into this country from Europe. The genus belongs to the 



