616 GRAMINE.E. (GRASS FAMILY.) 



numerous clustered branches and small oblong 8- 10-flowered spikelets erect 

 or appressed ; flowers minute, membranaceous, rather distant on the radii's; 

 flowering glume obtuse, 3-nerved. (Poa conferta, Ell. ) Kiver banks, Florida 

 to South Caroliua. August -Sept. Panicle whitish. Spikelets 1"-1" 



long. 



* * Panicles open, spreading : spikelets single. 



-t- Small annuals. 



* 



6. E. ciliaris, Link. Culms slender, prostrate or ascending, geniculatc ; 

 leaves (2' -3' long) linear, bearded at the throat; panicle spiked, cylindrical, 

 the minute (\" long) ovate spikelets densely crowded on the short appressed 

 branches, 5 - 7-flowered ; flowering glume obtuse ; the palet fringed on the 

 margins with bristly hairs. Varies with the panicles open and diffuse, and 

 the spikelets and flowers more scattered on the smooth rachis. Waste places. 

 Introduced. Culms 6'- 12' long. Spikelets purple. 



7. E. Purshii, Schrad. Culms slender, ascending, geniculate near the 

 base, 6'- 12' long; leaves narrowly linear, the sheaths bearded at the throat ; 

 panicle 3'- 6' long, the lowest of the widely spreading branches whorled ; 

 spikelets linear, 5- 10-flowered, purple or pale, the lateral ones appressed, 

 and mostly longer than their pedicels; flowering glume ovate, 3-nerved. 

 Waste places and cultivated grounds, common. June - Sept. 



8. E. Frankii, Meyer. Culms branched at the base, in tufts, 5' -10' 

 high; panicle oblong, 3' -6' long, the capillary branches widelv spreading; 

 spikelets 1" long, 2 - 5-flowered, long-pedicelled ; glumes acute, faintly nerved. 

 Low ground, in the upper districts. July - August. 



-i- *- Tall perennials : culms simple. 



9. E. tenuis, (Ell.). Culms, including the panicle, 2 -3 high ; leaves 

 l-2 long, bearded at the base; panicles l-2 long, capillarv, diffuse, 

 bearded at the lower axils; spikelets pale, long-pedicelled, 2 - 6-flowerecl ; 

 florets oblong-lanceolate, acute ; glumes lanceolate, acuminate, strongly 3- 

 nerved. Dry sandy soil in the upper districts. 



10. E. capillaris, Nees. Panicle widely expanding, the lower axils 

 mostly bearded; spikelets very small (1" - H" long), 2 - 4-flowered, mostly 

 purple, on long diverging capillary pedicels ; glumes and florets ovate, acute ; 

 flowering glume obscurely 3-nerved. Dry uncultivated fields. August - 

 Sept. Leaves and sheaths smooth or hairy. Panicle 1- 2 long. 



11. E. Elliottii, Watson. Panicle (1^- 3 long) reclining, the bristle- 

 like or capillary branches erect-spreading, naked in the axils ; spikelets linear, 

 flat (3" -4" long), 8- 12-flowered, the erect-spreading pedicels l'-2' long; 

 flowering glume acute, 3-nerved, nearly smooth on the keel ; leaves and sheaths 

 very smooth and shining. (Poa nitida, Ell.) Low grassy places along the 

 coast, Florida to South Carolina. August -Sept. 11 Leaves narrowly 

 linear, longer than the short (6'- 9' high) culm. 



12. E. pectinacea, Gray. Panicle erect, widely spreading, or the nu- 

 merous rather rigid and often hairy branches at length reflexed ; spikelets 

 oblong-linear, purple, flat, about 8-flowered, shorter than the erect or slightly 



