FOWL MEADOW GRASS. 81 



SHORT-LEAVED SPEAR GRASS (Poa brevifolia) is found 

 in rocky and hilly woodlands of the Middle and South- 

 ern States. The upper leaves very short, the root- 

 leaves long, nearly equalling the stem. 



SOUTHERN SPEAR GRASS (Poa flexuosa) is found in 

 the dry woods of Virginia, Kentucky, and other South- 

 ern States. Panicle very diffuse, leaves taper pointed ; 

 lower palea prominently nerved ; stem slender. Of no 

 agricultural value. 



WOOD SPEAR GRASS (Poa alsodes] is found in woods 

 and hill-sides from New England to Wisconsin. Leaves 

 narrow, acute, the upper often sheathing the base of 

 the panicle, the hairy branches of which are generally 

 in threes and fours. 



WEAK MEADOW GRASS (Poa debilis), another species 

 in rocky woodlands, from New England to Wisconsin. 

 Flowers in May. Panicle small, its branches slender, in 

 pairs and threes. Stem weak. 



SYLVAN SPEAR GRASS (Poa sylvestris} has an erect 

 flat stem, a short pyramidal panicle, with branches, in 

 fives or more. Found in rocky woods and meadows in 

 Ohio, Wisconsin, and the South. 



FOWL MEADOW, FALSE REDTOP (Poa serotina).Fig. 49. 

 Spikelets two to four, sometimes five flowered ; ligules 

 oval, spear-shaped ; flowers green, often tinged with 

 purple ; roots slightly creeping ; wet meadows and 

 banks of streams, very common. Flowers in July and 

 August. In long-continued moist weather the lower 

 joints send up flowering stems. The panicle is erect 

 and spreading when in flower, but more contracted and 

 drooping when ripe. Indigenous to many parts of this 

 country, and also a native of Europe. Its spikelet is 

 seen magnified in Fig. 50 ; its flower, in Fig. 51 ; its 

 germ, in Fig. 52, and its seed in Fig. 53. 



