GRASS FAMILY 149 



53. PLEUROPOGON R. Br. 



Spikelets many-flowered, linear, in loose racemes. Glumes unequal, mem- 

 branaceous or subhyaline, 1-nerved or the second imperfectly 3-nerved, shorter 

 than the lemmas. Lemmas membranaceous, 7-nerved, forming a round in- 

 durated callus at base, entire or somewhat 2-toothed at the apex, with the mid- 

 nerve extending into a short mucro or awn. Palea 2-keeled, the keels winged 

 or appendaged. Soft annuals or perennials with flat blades and rather large 

 spikelets. Species 3, 2 in the U. S. and 1 in the Arctic regions. (Greek pleura, 

 side, and pogon, beard.) 

 Lemmas about 3 lines long, scabrous and strongly nerved; spikelets not refracted; culm 



usually not over 2 feet tall 1. p. calif ornicus. 



Lemmas about 4 lines long, smooth or slightly scabrous; spikelets often refracted; culms 



usually over 3 feet high 2. P. refractus. 



1. P. californicus Benth. Annual; culms 1 to 2 feet high; blades short, 

 abruptly narrowed at apex; racemes 6 to 8 inches long; spikelets distant, 

 about an inch long, erect or somewhat spreading, short-pediceled ; glumes 

 obtuse, erose at apex, the first 2 lines, the second 3 lines long; lemmas rather 

 distant, 3 lines long, scabrous, toothed and scarious at apex, the nerves promin- 

 ent; the awn variable, usually 3 to 6 lines long, sometimes wanting; wings of 

 palea prominent, cleft to form a tooth about the middle. 



Wet meadows and marshy ground, Mendocino Co. to the San Francisco Bay 

 region. 



Locs. Sherwood Valley, Davy 5129; Santa Rosa, Heller 5294; Petaluma, Piper 6319; San 

 Rafael, BlanTcinship 19; Marin Co., Michcner ST Bioletti 122; Walnut Creek, Brewer 1043; 

 Oakland, Bolander 1545, 6075; San Bruno Hills, Elmer 4848. 



Refs. PLEUROPOGON CALIFORNICTTS Benth; Vasey, Grasses U. S. 40. 1883; U. S. Dept. Agr. 

 Div. Bot. Bull. 13 2 : pi. 68. 1893; Davy in Jepson, Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 63. 1901. Lophochlaena 

 calif ornica Nees, in Tayl. Ann. Nat. Hist. 1: 283. 1838, type from "California," Douglas; 

 Thurb. in Wats. Bot. Cal. 2 : 306. 1880. 



2. P. refractus Benth. Perennial ; culms 3 to 5 feet high ; spikelets about 

 as in P. californicus, spreading, or often reflexed; lemmas 4 lines long, only 

 minutely scabrous, the nerves less prominent ; awn variable, as much as % inch 

 long or nearly wanting; palea narrow, keeled to about the middle. 



Bogs, wet meadows and mountain streams, Mendocino and Humboldt 

 cos. to Washington. 



Locs. Humboldt Bay, Chandler 1107; Russian Gulch, Davy 6586; Comptche, McMurphy 

 455; Cahto, Davy 6626. 



Refs. PLEUROPOGON REFRACTUS Benth.; Vasey, Grasses U. S. 40. 1883; U. S. Dept. Agr. 

 Div. Bot. Bull. "3 2 : 69. 1893. Lophochlaena refracta Gray, Proc. Am. Acad. 8: 409. 1872; 

 Thurb. in Wats. Bot. Cal. 2: 307. 1880. 



54. DISTICHLIS Kaf . 



Spikelets many-flowered, dioecious, strongly compressed, in small panicles. 

 Glumes unequal, firm, keeled, acute. Lemmas coriaceous, rigid, faintly many- 

 nerved. Rigid erect perennials, with stout rhizomes, and dense panicles of 

 rather few spikelets. Species about 5, salt marshes and alkaline interior 

 plains, temperate America. (Greek distichos, two-ranked.) 



1. D. spicata Greene. Pale or glaucous; culms 4 inches to 2 feet high; 

 sheaths overlapping; blades often conspicuously distichous, rigidly ascending; 

 panicle narrow, 1 to 3 inches long ; spikelets 4 to 8 lines long, the florets closely 

 imbricated. 



Salt marshes and alkaline soil ; common in California along the coast and the 



