142 GRAMINEAE 



3-nerved, broad, keeled. Palea shorter than the lemma, often persistent on the 

 rachilla, the strong nerves ciliate. Annuals or perennials. Species about 100, 

 in warm and temperate regions of both hemispheres. (Greek er, spring, and 

 agrostis, a grass.) 

 Plants perennial. 



Panicle narrow and compact, more or less interrupted 1. E. secundiflora. 



Panicle loose and open 2. E. lugens. 



Plants annual. 



Spikelets dioecious or polygamous 8. E. hypnoides. 



Spikelets perfect. 



Spikelets ovate to oblong-ovate, about 1% lines wide; keel of lemmas glandular and 



scabrous 5. E. megastachya. 



Spikelets linear, % to 1 line wide; keel of lemmas scabrous but not glandular. 

 Panicle pilose in the lower axils. 



Lower lemmas % line wide 7. E. limbata. 



Lower lemmas }4 line wide 6. E. pilosa. 



Panicle glabrous in the axils. .' - 



Pedicels flexuous and spreading; lower lemmas *4 line wide 4. E. orcuttiana. 



Pedicels nearly straight, ascending or appressed ; lower lemmas l /& line wide 



3. E. rn.exica.na. 



1. E. secundiflora Presl. Perennial ; culms erect or decumbent at base, stiff, 

 1 to 2 feet high; sheaths pilose at the throat; panicles narrow, the branches 

 ascending, compactly flowered, approximate or more or less remote; spike- 

 lets many-flowered, the florets closely imbricated, usually tinged with red; 

 glumes 1-nerved, the second 1 line long; lemmas prominently 3-nerved, sci 

 brous on keel, broad at base, the acuminate apex somewhat divergent. 



Sandy prairies, Kansas to Florida and Mexico and west to southern California. 

 San Diego, Orcutt in 1884. 



Eefs. ERAGROSTIS SECUNDIFLORA Presl, Eel. Haenk. 1 : 276. 1830. E. oxylepis Torr. U. 

 Eep. Expl. Miss. Paeif. 4: 156. 1857. Poo oxylepis Torr. in Marey, Expl. Bed Eiv. 301. 1853. 

 P. interrupta Nutt. Trans. Am. Phil. Soc. II. 5: 196. 1837, not Lam. 1791. 



2. E. lugens Nees. Perennial ; culms erect, 2 to 3 feet high ; leaves mostly 

 basal, the blades narrow, involute; panicle large and diffuse, about % the 

 length of the entire plant ; spikelets 3 to 4 lines long, about % line wide ; sec- 

 ond glume 1 line long; lower lemmas 1 line long, y% line wide. 



Sandy prairies, San Diego Co. ( Jamacha, Canby) to Texas and south to South 

 America. 



Eef. ERAGROSTIS LUGENS Nees, Agrost. Bras. 505. 1829. 



3. E. mexicana Link. Annual ; culms erect or spreading, 1 to 2 feet high ; 

 sheaths hairy at the throat ; blades often elongated ; panicle large and diffuse, 

 glabrous in the axils, 6 to 12 inches long; spikelets 2 to 3 lines long, % line 

 wide, mostly 6 to 12-flowered, the pedicels slender, flexuous, mostly longer than 

 the spikelet; glumes acuminate, the second about 1 line long; lemmas smooth, 

 the lower 1 line long, y 3 line wide, the lateral nerves not prominent. 



A weed in fields and waste places, southern California (Los Angeles, River- 

 side) to New Mexico and southward to Mexico. 



Eefs. ERAGROSTIS MEXICANA Link, Hort. Berol. 1: 190. 1827. Poo mexicana Lag. Gen. 

 Sp. Nov. 3. 1816. 



4. E. orcuttiana Vasey. Resembling E. mexicana ; differing in the more 

 slender, usually arcuate spikelets on shorter pedicels; spikelets 2*/2 to 3 lines 

 long, y 3 to y 2 line wide; glumes short, the first y 2 line, the second % line long; 

 lemmas scarcely ^ line wide. 



Fields and waste places, known only from California. 



Locs. Yreka, Butler 869; Castle Crag, Hitchcock 3063; Amador Co., Hansen 813, 2086; 



