150 GRAMINEAE 



interior deserts and valleys; not found at high altitudes. Throughout the 



U. S. and Mexico. 



Refs. DISTICHLIS SPICATA Greene, Bull. Cal. Aead. 2: 415. 1887; Davy in Jepson, Fl. W. 

 Mid. Cal. 63. 1901; Abrams, Fl. Los Ang. 47. 1904. Uniola spicata L. Sp. PL 71. 1753. 

 Distichlis maritima Eaf. Jour, de Phys. 89: 104. 1819; Thurb. in Wats. Bot. Cal. 2: 306. 1880. 

 Var. stricta Thurb. in Wats. Bot. Cal. 2: 306. 1880. Uniola stricta Torr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 1: 

 155. 1824. 



55. BRIZA L. 



Spikelets several-flowered, compressed, rounded-ovate or triangular, in pani- 

 cles. Glumes membranaceous, with broad scarious margins, strongly concave, 

 rounded on the back and more or less ventricose. Lemmas similar, 3 to many- 

 nerved, nearly horizontal to the axis. Annuals or perennials, the California 

 species with open panicles of handsome spikelets. Species 12, in the temperate 

 regions of Europe, North Africa, Mexico and South America, and certain spe-' 

 cies introduced into the U. S. (An ancient Greek name for a kind of grain, 

 probably rye.) 



Plants perennial 1. B. m< 'I'm. 



Plants annual. 



Panicle drooping; spikelets 5 lines broad 2. B. maxima. 



Panicle erect; spikelets not over 2 lines broad 3. B. minor. 



1. B. media L. Perennial; culms erect, 1 to 2 feet high, erect or decumbent 

 at base; panicle erect, pyramidal, many-flowered, the branches capillary, 

 stiffly ascending or spreading ; spikelets nodding, 3 lines long, heart-shaped, or 

 triangular-ovate. 



Sparingly introduced from Europe. Bennett Valley, Heller 5649. 

 Refs. BRIZA MEDIA L. Sp. PL 70. 1753; Thurb. in Wats. Bot. Cal. 2: 316. 1880; Davy in 

 Jepson, FL W. Mid. Cal. 64. 1901. 



2. B. maxima L. Annual; culms erect or decumbent at base, 1 to 2 feet 

 high ; panicle drooping, few-flowered ; spikelets ovate, large, % inch long or 

 more, 5 lines broad, the pedicels slender, drooping ; glumes and lemmas usually 

 purple- or brown-margined. 



A native of Europe, sparingly escaped from gardens where it is cultivated for 

 ornament. Big Sur, Davy 7459. 



Refs. BRIZA MAXIMA L. Sp. PL 70. 1753 ; Davy in Jepson, Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 64. 1901. 



3. B. minor L. Annual; culms erect, 4 to 15 inches high; panicle erect, 

 pyramidal, many-flowered, the main branches stiffly ascending, the capillary 

 branchlets spreading; spikelets triangular-ovate, 1% lines long. 



Naturalized from Europe, rather common from central California to British 

 Columbia. 



Eefs. BRIZA MINOR L. Sp. PL 70. 1753; Davy in Jepson, FL W. Mid. Cal. 64. 1901. 



56. DACTYLIS L. 



Spikelets 3 to 5-flowered, nearly sessile in dense fascicles, borne in panicles. 

 Glumes unequal, keeled, acute, the first 1-nerved, the second 3-nerved. Lemmas 

 5-nerved, awn-pointed, compressed-keeled, the keels conspicuously ciliate- 

 fringed. A perennial bunch-grass, with flat blades, and paniculate glomerules, 

 the few branches expanded in flower. Species 1, north temperate regions of 

 the Old World. (Greek daktulos, a finger.) 



] . D. glomerata L. ORCHARD GRASS. Culms erect, 2 to 4 feet high ; blades 

 broadly linear; panicle 3 to 6 inches long, the few stiff branches naked below, 

 contracted after flowering; spikelets crowded in dense 1-sided clusters at the 

 ends of the branches. 





