560 GRAMINE^. (GRASS FAMILY.) 



than the awn-pointed teeth. (Uralepis comma, Ell.) Dry sandy soil, Florida 

 to !North Carolina. Aug. and Sept. 1J.. 



2. T. purpurea. Culms procumbent or ascending, l-l long; leaves 

 and sheaths smooth or roughish ; lateral panicles included ; awn of the lower 

 palea bearded, about as long as the obtuse teeth, and much shorter than the 

 paleae. (Aira, Ell. Uralepis purpurea, Nutt.) Drifting sands along the coast, 

 Florida, and northward. Aug. -Oct. Leaves 1'- 4' long. Spikelets bright 

 purple. 



26. EATONIA, Raf. 



Slender erect and tufted grasses, with narrow leaves, and small smooth (not 

 hairy) spikelets of pale flowers in a racemose or spicate panicle. Spikelets awn- 

 less, 2 - 5-flowered, the uppermost flower usually an awn-like pedicel. Glumes 

 membranaceous, shorter than the flowers ; the lower one linear and 1 -nerved ; the 

 upper obovate, 3-nerved. Paleae unequal, the lower one obtuse. Stamens 3. 

 Grain linear-oblong. 



1. E. Obtusata, Gray. Panicle dense, spike-like, the 2-flowered spikelets 

 much crowded on the short erect branches ; glumes rough on the back, the upper 

 one round-obovate, somewhat truncate, rather rigid ; lower palea lanceolate- 

 oblong, obtuse, rough-keeled. (Aira obtusata, Michx.) Dry soil, Florida, and 

 northward. April and May. y. and ^l) Culms 1 - 2 high. 



2. E. Pennsylvanica, Gray. Panicle slender, loose, the 2-3-flowered 

 spikelets scattered on the slender branches ; glumes slightly roughened on the 

 back, the upper one obovate, obtuse, or abruptly short-pointed ; lower palea ob- 

 tuse ; leaves flat, with the sheaths smooth, rough, or soft-downy. (Aira mollis, 

 Ell.) Upper districts. April. U Culms 1 - 2 high. 



Var.? flliformis. Culms 1 high, very slender, barely 'longer than the fili- 

 form involute leaves ; panicle linear, loose ; spikelets scattered, mostly 3-flowered, 

 the flowers distant on the rachis, the lowest one and glumes nearly smooth. ( Aira 

 mollis, var. Ell.) Dry pine barrens, Florida to South Carolina. March. 



27. MELICA, L. 



Perennial grasses, with flat leaves, and 3 - 5-flowered spikelets of large flowers 

 in a simple panicle. Flowers awnless, the upper ones imperfect. Glumes mem- 

 branaceous, unequal, convex, obtuse, scarious on the margins, many-nerved. 

 Paleae similar to the glumes ; the upper one smaller, concave on the back. Sta- 

 mens 3. Grain free. 



1. M. mutica, Walt. Culms 1- 2 high; leaves and sheaths smoother 

 rough-pubescent ; panicle loose, of few nodding racemose spikelets ; upper flow- 

 ers imperfect, truncate-obovate ; palea roughish. (M. glabra, Michx.) Dry 

 open woods, Florida, and northward. April. 



28. GLYCERIA, Brown. 



Smooth perennial marsh or water grasses, with flat leaves, nearly entire sheaths, 

 and terete or tumid many-flowered spikelets disposed in a simple or compound 



