178 



GRAMINEAE 



TRIBE IX. HORDEAE. 

 I 63. LOLIUM L. 



Spikelets several-flowered, solitary at each node of a continuous rachis, 1 edge 

 of each spikelet placed against the rachis, the glume on that edge (the 

 glume) wanting, but both glumes present on the terminal spikelet. Glume nar- 

 row, rigid, 5 to 7-nerved, longer than the lower lemma, often exceeding the 

 uppermost. Lemmas convex, 5 to 7-nerved, awned or awnless. Annuals or 

 short-lived perennials with flat blades and spikelets scattered in terminal 

 spikes. Species 6, temperate Eurasia, introduced in America. (An ancient 

 Latin name.) 

 Glume shorter than the spikelet. 



Lemmas awned 1. L. multiflorum. 



Lemmas nearly or quite awnless 2. L. perenne. 



Glume as long or longer than the spikelet ; annuals. 



Spikelets conspicuous 3. L. temulentum. 



Spikelets hidden behind the appressed glumes 4. I.. sul>ul<iiii>. 



1. L. multiflorum Lam. ITALIAN RYE-GRASS. AUSTRALIAN RYE-GRASS. Short- 

 lived perennial; culms 1 to 2 feet high, erect or often decumbent at base, often 

 rough below the spike and on the convex portion of the rachis ; spike as much 

 as a foot long; spikelets as much as an inch long, twice as long as glume, 10 

 to 20-flowered ; lemmas 3!/o to 4 lines long, at least the upper awned. 



Roadsides and waste places, mostly in the Coast Ranges; introduced from 

 Europe, common on the Pacific Coast and frequent in the Eastern States. Fre- 

 quently cultivated for lawns and as a meadow or pasture grass. 



Refs. LOLIUM MULTIFLORUM Lam. Fl. Franc,. 621. 1778. L. italicum A. Br. Flora 17 : 2 

 1834; Thurb. in Wats. Bot. Cal. 2: 323. 1880. L. perenne L. var. italicum Parn. Grasses 

 Brit. 298. 1845; Davy in Jepson, Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 75. 1901. Var. multiflorum "auct." [Parn.) 

 Davy in Jepson, Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 75. 1901 ; Abrams, Fl. Los Ang. 58. 1904. 



2. L. perenne L. PERENNIAL RYE-GRASS. Resembling L. multiflorum, but 

 usually more delicate, with narrower blades and smaller spikes ; culm and con- 

 vex surface of rachis smooth; spikelets usually 8 to 10-flowered, not mucl 

 exceeding the glume ; lemmas smaller, awnless. 



Roadsides and waste places, throughout the cooler and moister portion of the 

 U. S. Introduced from Europe. Sometimes cultivated as a lawn or pasture 

 grass. Rare on the Pacific Coast. 



Locs. Mt. Shasta, Palmer 2639 in 1892; Ferndale, Davy 6200; Mendocino Co., McMurpliy 

 421; Fresno Co., (Zriffiths 4712. 



Var. tenue Kunth. Blades narrow, folded, firm, erect; spikes slender, the 

 spikelets few-flowered. Yreka, Butler 1563; near Mt. Shasta, Palmer 2612 in 

 1892. 



Eefs. LOLIUM PERENNE L. Sp. PI. 83. 1753; Thurb. in Wats. Bot. Cal. 2: 323. 1880; Davy 

 in Jepson, Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 75. 1901; Abrams, Fl. Los Ang. 57. 1904. Var. TENUE Kimth, 

 Enum. 1: 436. 1833; Davy in Jepson, Fl. W. Mid. Cal. 75. 1901. 



3. L. temulentum L. DARNEL. Annual ; culms 2 to 3 feet high ; spike stout 

 and strict, 6 to 8 inches long ; glume about 1 inch long, as long or longer than 

 the 5 to 7-flowered spikelet. firm, pointed; lemmas as much as 4 lines long, 

 obtuse, awned ; awn as much as 4 lines long. 



Fields and waste places, rather common throughout the state and north wart 

 along the Pacific Coast, rare in the Eastern States ; introduced from Europe. 



Var. arvense Bab. Differs in having awnless spikelets. Less common thai 

 the species, introduced from Europe. 



