GEAMINEAE (GRASS FAMILY) 



129 



broad truncate 5-nerved hyaline lemma ; palea nearly equal, 

 narrow. Erect simple perennials, with flat leaves and terminal 

 spike-like panicles. (From <X^ws, a Greek name for a kind 

 of reed.) 



1. P. PRATENSE L. (TlMOTHY, HERD'S GRASS.) CulmS 



4-10 dm. high, from a swollen base ; panicle long-cylindrical ; 

 awn of glumes 1 mm. long Meadows, commonly cultivated 

 for hay. (Nat. from Eu.) FIG. 94. 



2. P. alpinum L. Culms 2-6 dm. high; panicle narrowly 

 ellipsoid or short-cylindrical; awn of glumes 2 mm. long. 

 Alpine regions of N. E. and north w. ; also Upper Mich. (Eurasia.) 



94. P. pratense. 



Floret raised from 



the glumes x 8. 



30. ALOPECtTRUS L. FOXTAIL GRASS 



Spikelets 1-flowered, flattened, falling from the axis entire, in slender spike- 

 like panicles ; glumes equal, awnless, usually connate at the base, ciliate on 

 the keel, the broad 5-nerved obtuse lemma nearly equal in length, with a 

 slender erect dorsal awn from below the middle ; margins connate near the 

 base ; palea none. Branching perennials with flat leaves and soft dense 

 spike-like panicles. (Name from dXuijrTjl, fox, and ovpd, tail, from the shape 

 of the spike.) 



1. A. PRATENSIS L. (MEADOW F.) Erect, glabrous; culms 3-9 dm. high, 

 from short creeping rootstocks ; sheaths loose, the upper usually inflated ; 



leaves scabrous ; panicle 5-10 cm. long ; spikelets 5 mm. long ; 



the lemma equaling the acute long-ciliate glumes ; awn usually 



exserted about 5 mm. Meadows and pastures, eastw. May. 



(Nat. from Eu.) 



2. A. geniculatus L. (FLOATING F.) Glabrous or nearly 

 so ; culms slender, decumbent and branched at base, then erect 

 or ascending, 1.5-6 dm. higli ; leaves slightly scabrous; pani- 

 cles slender, 2.5-7.5 cm. long; spikelets about 3 mm. long; 

 lemma shorter than the obtuse long-ciliate glumes ; awn bent, 

 the exserted portion usually twice as long as the glumes. 

 Moist meadows, banks of streams and ditches, Nfd. to B. C., 

 and throughout U. S. June-Aug. (Eurasia.) FIG. 95. 



Var. aristulatus Torr. Spikelets slightly smaller, awn very 

 slender and scarcely exserted. In water and wet places, 

 common. June-Aug. In the Western States these two forms 

 ,, . seem inseparable and indigenous, but in the eastern portion of 



? * i/ S our range the former appears to be introduced and is easily 



Bit of'sanMoU distinguished by its longer awns and usually geniculate or 

 Spikeletand lemma cre ep in g base. The variety appears to be the same as A. fulvus 

 x 3 Sm. of Eurasia. 



3. A. AGRKSTIS L. Glabrous ; culms erect or decumbent at 

 base, 3-6 dm. high ; leaves scabrous; panicle rather slender, 3.5-10 cm. long; 

 spikelets 6-7 mm. long ; glumes very short-ciliate on the keels, connate for J their 

 length, slightly shorter than the lemma ; awn twice the length of the glumes or 

 more. Waste places and ballast, Mass., N. J., Pa.; and on Pacific coast. 

 (Adv. from Eu.) 



31. SPOR6BOLUS R. Br. DROP-SEED. RUSH GRASS 



Spikelets 1-flowered, awilless, in narrow and spike-like, or loose and spreading, 

 often partly included, panicles ; lemma as long as or longer than the usually 

 unequal glumes, 1-nerved ; palea equaling or exceeding the lemma, often splitting 

 between the strong nerves at maturity ; grain readily falling from the spikelet, 

 pericarp loosely inclosing the seed, often thin and evanescent. Annuals or 

 perennials with involute or flat leaves. (Name from ffiropd, seed, and /SdXXetv, to 

 cast forth. ) 



GRAY'S MANUAL 9 



