ORDEK CXL. GEAlTDTrLE GEASS-FAMILY. 



219 



than the 2, coriaceous, awnless palese, which inclose the com- 

 piessed grain. Per. 



1. P. arundinacea. 



Canary Grass. 



Culm tall, erect, simple or branching ; leaves lanceolate, rough on the mar- 

 gin ; panicle contracted, oblong, more or less branching ; branches somewhat 

 epicate, densely flowered, at length somewhat spreading ; rudimentary flow'ers 

 hairy, nmch shorter than the perfect ones. A tall, rank grass, 2 5 ft. high, 

 common in wet grounds. There is a variety having broad leaves, striped with 

 different colors, frequently cultivated in gardens under the name of Bibbon- 

 grass. July. 



81. MlLITJM. 



Spikelets in loose panicles, apparently 1 -flowered, owing to the 

 nearly complete absence of a second neutral flower ; the lower 

 glume of the perfect flower is also wanting, and its place is sap- 

 plied by the remaining palea of the abortive flower. Palere of 

 the perfect flower 2, awnless. Grain smooth not grooved. Per. 



1. M. effusum. Millet Grass. 



Culm tall, erect, simple, smooth ; leaves long, flat, thin, broad-linear ; panicle 

 very large and loose, with spreading branches ; splkelets ovoid, scattered. A 

 tall grass, 2 ft high, rather common in low woods, with pale-green foliage, and 

 large, diffuse panicles. June July. 



82. PASPALUM. 



Spikelcts roundish, flat on the tinder side, convex above, in 

 several rows, on one side of a flattened rachis, apparently 1- 

 fluwered, with only a single glume, the single palea of the lower 

 empty flower supplying the place of the lower one Palese 2. 

 Stigma plumose, colored. Per. 



1. P. Betaceum. Wild Millet. 



Culm slender, decumbent or ascending, simple or branching at base ; leaves 

 linear-lanceolate, flat, clliate, and with the sheaths softly hairy ; spikes mostly 

 solitary, very slender, terminal one on a long, very slender peduncle ; lateral 

 ones often with Included peduncles; splkelets orbicular, In 2 rows, each 

 broader than the flexnous rachis. A not uncommon weed In sandy fields near 

 the coast. Culm 12 ft long. Aug. 



88. PANICUM. 



Spikelets panicled, raeemed, or somewhat spicate, consisting 

 of 1 neutral or staminate flower, and 1 perfect flower. Glumes 

 2, usually minute, sometimes wanting. Lower flower with a 

 single palea usually awnless, sometimes awncd, rarely with 2 

 palete ; upper flower perfect, with 2 awnless palea! which inclose 

 the free grain. Stigmas plumose, mostly colored. 



{ SpiteleU awnleu, in little clusters, arranged in single, racemose, 

 mottly \-Mtd spikes. Lower Jtmcer neutral. An. 



1. Ft sanguinale. 



Crab-Grass. 



Culms decumbent at base, rooting at the joints, then erect ; leaves linear- 

 lanceolate, and with the sheath somewhat hairy ; spikes 8 12, In digitate, ter- 

 minal clusters ; spikelets mostly In pain, oblong, appressed to the somewhat 

 flexnons rachis In about 2 rows ; upper glume shorter than the flower. A com- 

 mon and very troublesome weed In gardens and cultivated grounds, where It 

 spreads with great rapidity. Culm 12 ft high, bearing a digitate cluster of 

 s.e. r, usually purplish spikes. A 



2. P. glabrum. Smooth Crab-Grass. 



< tlms procumbent or slightly ascending, mostly smooth, rarely rooting at 

 the jints ; leaves short and flat ; spikes 25, rather alternately than dlgitately 

 clu ( .ered, very slender; splkelets crowded, somewhat hairy; upper glume 

 eqt lllng the flower. A weed like the last, but less common, found In sandy 

 fid Is, and distinguished by its almost entirely procumbent, smooth culm not 

 roUIng at the joints, and Its usually alternate, filiform spikes. Culm H'iy 

 1 9 g. Aug. 



{ 2. Spttelett awnleu, panicled. 



3. P. agrostoidea. Clustered Panic-Grass. 



Culm compressed, rigidly erect, often geniculate at base ; leaves long, smooth, 

 ith short, smooth sheaths ; panicles erect, terminal and lateral, contracted, 

 imewhat pyramidal ; branches nearly simple, densely racemose, somewhat 1- 



sided ; spikelets small, pedicellate, purplish ; upper glume veined ; lower flow, 

 er neutral, with 2 palese. A common species in wet meadows, 2 ft high, dis- 

 tinguished by its very long leaves and the racemose branches of* the panicle. . 

 Aug. Per. 



4. P. proliferum. Panic-Grass. 



Smooth ; culm thick, succulent, geniculate, procumbent at base, then ascend- 

 ing ; leaves linear-lanceolate ; panicles large, pyramidal, terminal and lateral ; 

 branches slender, at length spreading, with small, racemose, apprcssed spikelets ; 

 neutral flower consisting of 1 palea, slightly longer than the perfect flower. A 

 common species in meadows and swamps along the coast, distinguished by its 

 succulent, geniculate culms, which are 12 ft. high. Aug. An. 



5. P. capillare. Hair Panic-Grass. 



Culm erect, simple above, often branched at base ; leaves broad-linear, hairy 

 as well as the sheaths ; panicle very large, pyramidal, very loose, with numer- 

 ous capillary branches ; spikelets small, on long, slender pedicels ; neutral flow- 

 er consisting of 1 palea, much longer than the perfect flower. A common spe- 

 cies In cultivated grounds, distinguished by its hairy leaves and sheaths and its 

 very large and capillary panicle. Culm 12 ft high. Aug. An. 



6. P. virgatum. Wand-Grass. 



Smooth ; culm tall, erect, nearly simple ; leaves very long, broad-linear, flat ; 

 panicle very large, diffuse, slender, with finally spreading or drooping branches ; 

 spikelets scattered, pedicellate, quite large, often purplish ; lower flower stami- 

 nate ; stamens with purple anthers. A rather common species in sandy soils, 

 especially near the coast Culm 25 ft. high. Aug. Per. 



1. P. latifolium. Broad-leaved Panic-Grass. 



Culm erect, smooth, nearly simple, usually bearded with soft hairs at tho 

 nodes ; leaves oval-lanceolate, cordate and clasping at base, nearly or quite 

 smooth ; sheaths smooth, except at the usually bearded throat ; panicle loose, 

 abort, on an eiscrted peduncle, with short, nearly simple, spreading branches ; 

 lower flower usually staminate, with a single palea. A common species in low 

 thickets and damp woods, sufficiently distinguished by Its broad leaves with 

 smooth sheaths, bearded at the throat Culm 12 ft high. June July. 



8. P. clandestinum. Stiff Panic-Grass. 



Culms erect rigid, very leafy above, with short, appressed branches, smooth 

 at the nodes ; leaves oblong-lanceolate, cordate and clasping at base, tapering to 

 a long-acuminate point; sheaths rough with dense bristles; panicles terminal 

 and lateral, more or less inclosed in the sheaths, the terminal rarely on a long, 

 exsert peduncle, all very loose, with spreading, racemose branches; lower flower 

 mostly, If not always, neutral, with only 1 palea. A common species in low, 

 wet grounds, especially along streams, distinguished from the last by its more 

 rigid stem not bearded at the nodes, the rough-hispid sheaths and the partly 

 Included panicles. Culm 2 3 ft high. Aug. Per. 



9. P. dichotomum. Forked Panic-Grass. 



Culm slender, erect or somewhat decumbent, generally simple at first, at 

 length usually very branching, and often somewhat dlchotomous ; leaves lin- 

 ear-lanceolate, flat ; radical ones usually much shorter and broader, sometimes 

 smooth and shining, dark green, as also the sheaths, sometimes pale green, and 

 more or less hairy ; panicles compound, terminal and lateral, usually on moro 

 or less exsert peduncles, with spreading branches ; lateral panicles often short 

 and simple, and more or less Included In the sheaths; spikelets often purplish, 

 small ; lower flower neutral, with a single palea. A very common and variable 

 species, growing In moist situations, with corresponding varieties in size, pubes- 

 cence and other characters. Culm 4' 20' high, or higher. June Sep. Per. 



J 8. Spikelets crowded in dense, spicate dusters, /arming a dense paniov- 

 late tpike. Lower palea of the lower flower awned or mucronate. 



10. P. Crtis-galli. 



Barn-yard Grass. 



Culm stout, branching at base ; leaves lanceolate, flat, rough on tho margin, 

 otherwise smooth, as also the sheaths ; spikes alternate, compound, forming a 

 dense panicle ; lower flower neutral, with 2 palero ; lower palea, awned ; awn 

 rough, usually long. A coarse, weedy, variable grass, very common In rich, 

 waste grounds. The flowers are sometimes awnless, and the sheaths densely 

 hispid, when U grews in salt-water ditches, as It often does. Culm 2 4ft. 

 high. Aug. Sep. An. 



84. SETJkRIA. 

 Spikelets in compound, cylindrical spikes, furnished with 1 or 



