G14 GBAMINEJE. (GRASS FAMILY.) 



4. E. Dudley!, Vasey. Panicle racemose, the short branches erect; 

 spikelets 2-flowered ; glumes nearly equal, the lower oblong, the upper ellipti- 

 cal, with broad scarious margins, obtuse or apiculate ; florets obtuse. Open 

 woods in the upper districts. Culms 1- 2 high. Leaves short and flat. 



64. POA, L. MEADOW GRASS. 



Grasses with tufted culms, smooth flat and tender leaves, and compressed 

 few-flowered spikelets in loose or contracted panicles. Glumes unequal, 

 shorter than the florets. Flowering glume nearly membranaceous, keeled, 

 scarious on the margins, awnless, 5-nerved, the three more prominent nerves 

 mostly hairy or woolly below; palet 2-toothed, falling at maturity with the 

 lower one. Stamens 2-3. Stigmas plumose. Grain free. 



* Branches of the panicle single, or in pairs. 



1. P. annua, L. Annual; culms tender, spreading, 6'- 10' high; leaves 

 linear, 3' -6' long, 1^" wide; panicle ovate, the smooth branches at length 

 reflexed ; spikelets ovate, about 5-flowered ; glumes obtuse or eraargiuate, 

 half as long as the sparsely hairy obtuse florets. Yards and gardens, Florida, 

 and northward. Feb. -March. Introduced. 



2. P. cristata, Walt. ? Annual; culms erect, 6' -10' high; leaves linear, 

 subulate, 1' long, \" wide ; panicle linear or lanceolate, dense, the lowest of 

 the rough branches spreading ; spikelets 3 - 5-flowexed ; flowering glume with 

 a prominent crest like fringe on the back, barely longer than the acute glumes. 

 Dry soil around Quincy, Middle Florida. April. 



3. P. flexuosa, Muhl. Perennial; culms weak, mostly erect, 1-1| 

 high ; leaves narrowly linear; branches of the panicle by pairs (l'-2' long), 

 capillarv, widely spreading; spikelets 2-4 near the summit of each branch, 

 pale, oblong, 3 - 4-flowered ; glumes acute, the lower 1-nerved, the upper 5- 

 nerved ; flowering glume compressed and very obtuse at the apex, hairy on 

 the nerves. Rich shaded soil, Florida, and northward. May. 



* * Branches of the panicle 3-6 in a cluster: perennials. 



4. P. Wolfii, Scribner. Culm slender, 2 high ; leaves narrow-linear ; 

 panicle loose, nodding, the branches in pairs or threes; spikelets ovate, 3-5- 

 flowered ; empty glumes 3-nerved ; flowering glumes 5-nerved, lanceolate, 

 keeled, the margins and keel villous, and a copious web at the base. Cedar 

 glades of Tennessee (Gattinger). 



5. P. pratensis, L. Culms terete, ascending from a creeping base, 

 smooth ; leaves mostly abruptly pointed ; branches of the panicle expanding, 

 about 5 in a cluster ; spikelets ovate, 3 - 5-flowered, crowded ; florets closely 

 imbricated; flowering glume acutish, strongly nerved, hairy. Rich soil, 

 mostly around dwellings. Introduced. May. Culm l-2high. 



6. P. trivialis, L. Culms terete, not creeping at the base, scabrous ; 

 leaves acute ; spikelets ovate, mostly 2-flowered ; empty glumes strongly- 

 keeled, the lower 1-nerved, the upper 3-nerved ; flowering glumes 5-nerved, 

 fringed on the keel, otherwise smooth. Tennessee ( Gattinger). 



7. P. COmpressa, L. Culms ascending from a creeping base, genicu- 

 late, and, like the sheaths, compressed; panicle contracted, 1-sided, the short 



