TALL REDTOP. 65 



glumes, smooth ; leaves longer than the bent branch- 

 ing stems, which are from eight to fifteen inches long, 

 the upper sheath forming the base of the panicle-like 

 raceme ; paleas hairy, margined towards the base, the 

 lower having two small lateral teeth, and an awn at the 

 cleft of the apex. 



Found in brackish marshes on the coast from Rhode 

 Island southward, and from Illinois southward on the 

 Mississippi River. Flowers in August. 



24. TRICUSPIS. 



Spikelets three to twelve flowered ; glumes unequal ; 

 rachis of the spike bearded below each flower; lower 

 palea much larger than the upper; convex, hairy on the 

 back, three-nerved, and three-pointed by the projection 

 of the nerves; stamens three ; stigmas dark purple. 



TALL REDTOP ( Tricuspis seslerioides) is a perennial, 

 growing from three to five feet high, on dry and sandy 

 fields, from New York to Illinois, and southward, flow- 

 ering in August. It is a showy grass, with an upright, 

 very smooth stem, smooth leaves, and large compound 

 spreading panicle ; spikelets very numerous ; shining, 

 purple flowers, hairy towards the base. It has some- 

 times been cut for hay, but is not considered of much 

 value. 



SAND GRASS (Tricuspis purpurea) is also found on' 

 dry, sandy soils, along the coast, flowering in August 

 and September. It is acid to the taste, grows from six 

 inches to a foot high, in numerous stems, in a tuft from 

 the same root, and has numerous bearded joints. Ex- 

 tends southward from Massachusetts to Virginia, and 

 still further down the coast. 



HORNED SAND GRASS (Tricuspis cornuta) is another 

 species found at the South. Of no agricultural value. 

 6* 



