MANUAL OF THE GRASSES OF THE UNITED STATES 



139 



localities in the Eastern States from Canada to Alabama and 

 Arkansas, becoming common on the Pacific coast, especially in 

 California (fig. 267). 



3. Briza media L. (Fig. 266, C.) Perennial; culms 15 to 60 cm 

 tall ; ligule of the upper leaf about 1 mm long, truncate ; blades 2 to 5 

 mm wide; panicle erect, 5 to 10 cm long, the branches rather stiff, 

 ascending, naked below; spikelets 5- to 12-flowered, orbicular, about 

 5 mm long. 2L Fields and waste places, sparingly introduced, 

 Ontario to Connecticut and Michigan (fig. 268). 



FIGURE 267. Distribution of 

 Briza minor. 



FIGUEE 268. Distribution of 

 Briza media. 



DESMAZERIA SICULA (Jacq.) Dum. Low annual; culms spreading with 

 ascending ends; panicles simple, 3 to 5 cm long, with large flat 2-ranked spike- 

 lets. O Occasionally cultivated for ornament. Europe. (Name some- 

 times spelled Demazeria.) 



12. ERAGROSTISBeauv.. LOVEGRASS 



Spikelets few- to many-flowered, the florets usually closely imbri- 

 cate, the rachilla disarticulating above the glumes and between the 

 florets, or continuous, the lemmas deciduous, the paleas persistent; 

 glumes somewhat unequal, shorter than the first lemma, acute or 

 acuminate, 1-nerved, or the second rarely 3-nerved; lemmas acute or 

 acuminate, keeled or rounded on the back, 3-nerved, the lateral 

 nerves sometimes obscure; palea usually about as long as the lemma, 

 the keels sometimes ciliate. Annuals or perennials of various habit, 

 the inflorescence an open or contracted panicle. Type species, 

 Eragrostis eragrostis Beauv. (E. poaeoides). Name from the Greek 

 eros, love, and agrostis, a kind of grass. 



Although the species are numerous, they in general appear to have 

 little forage value. Eragrostis intermedia is said to furnish forage 

 on the grazing lands of Arizona and New Mexico. 



la. Plants annual. 



2a. Plants creeping, rooting at the nodes, forming mats. 



Plants with perfect flowers; anthers 0.2 mm long 11. E. HYPNOIDES. 



Plants dioecious; anthers 2 mm long 10. E. REPTANS. 



2b. Plants often decumbent at base but not creeping and forming mats. 



3a. Palea prominently ciliate on the keels, the cilia usually as long as the 



width of the lemma. 

 Panicle interruptedly spikelike, rarely somewhat open; spikelets usually 



3 to 4 mm long 7. E. CILIARIS. 



Panicle narrow but open, the pedicels ascending or spreading; spikelets 



2 mm long 8. E. AMABILIS. 



3b. Palea scabrous to short-ciliate. 



4a. Panicle long, narrow, rather dense, tawny or stramineous; spikelets 



2 to 3 mm long 9. E. GLOMERATA. 



4b. Panicle more or less open; spikelets usually more than 3 mm long. 



5a. Spikelets sessile or nearly so 12. E. SIMPLEX. 



5b. Spikelets pediceled. 



6a. Spikelets mostly less than 5-flowered; lemmas obscurely nerved, 

 scarcely keeled. 



