GRAMINE^. (grass FAMILY.) 865 



nerved at back, koel long-ciliate, produced into an awnaslong us glume 

 or a little shorter ; pales two-thirds as long as glume— May to September. 



Var. coiiimutatuiii, Bolss. Smaller; spikes more ovate; awug 

 shorter — Alpine Lebanon. 



32. ISPOROBOLIJ^, R. Br. Dkop-Seed Grass. 



Spikelets 1-floweied, perfect, somewhat laterally compressed, the 

 floweret sessile. Glumes membranous, unequal, the upper about as 

 long as pales. Pales membranous, muticous, nearly equal, the upper 

 2-keeled. Stamens 2-3. Styles 2, short; stigmas plumose — Perennials 

 with creeping root-stocks, and aspect of Agrostis. 



1. S. §picatu§, Vahl. % Sammah. Ahu-liikah. .1 to .3; sto- 

 lons naked. Leaves crowded at neck and nodes of stolous, sheaths 

 open, blades linear, involute, pungent, scabrous at margins, pubescent 

 at upper, glabrous at lower surface, those of geniculate culms with 

 long sheath and short blade. Spike long-xiedunclcd^ .05 to .06 long, 

 .002 thick ; glumes glossy, the lower one-third as long as upper, hyaline^ 

 ovate, oituse, the upper lanceolate, acute; pales equal, as long as upper 

 glume or a little longer — Spring — Maritime sands ; borders of Et-Tih, 

 and southward to Egypt. 



2. S. pungeus, Schreb. If .3 to .3; stolons scaly. Leaves 

 densely 2-ranked, sheaths enclosing one another, bearded at mouth, the 

 blades pubescent at upper, glabrous at lower surface, lanceolate to lanceo- 

 late-linear, subulate-tapering, convolute at tip, ])uugent. Panicle sheath- 

 ed hy uppermost leaf , .03 to .05 long, .01 to .015 broad, oblong-ovate, 

 compact; glumes glabrous, glossy, lanceolate, the \q\vqy two-thirds as 

 long as upper; pales similar to glumes, equal, as long as upper glume 

 — June to October — Maritime sands; common. 



33. AGROSTIS, L. Bent-Grass. 



Spikelets 1-flowered, the floweret perfect, sometimes with a rudi- 

 mentary floweret above. Glumes keeled or compressed. Pales with a 

 round, smooth wart at base, membranous, the lower 5-nerved, muticous 

 or aristate at back, the upper smaller, 2-keeled, sometimes 0. Stamens 

 usually 3. Styles 2, stigmas plumose — Perennials or annuals; spike- 

 lets panicled. 



* Lower 2^nle muticous. liudiment of second floiccr 0. 



1. A. \-cr,ticilIata, Vill. li Whorled Bent-Grass. Na'im. Sun- 

 haleh. .2 to .5, decumbent, often rooting at lower nodes. Leaves 

 linear-lanceolate, .03 to. 08 long. Panicle oblong, dense, .04 to .15 long, 

 .000 to .025 broad, somewhat whorled, scabrous, spikelets crowded; 

 glumes equal, oblong, obtuse, apprcs.sed-puberuleut; pales half as long 

 as glumes, nearly equal —April to August — Wet places; common. 



2. A. alba, L. 2f Florin Grass. White Bent Grass. .5 to .8, 

 decumbent, rooting at lower nodes. XaC^wqs narroitly linear, A io .'.\ 

 long. Panicle oblong-lanceolate, .1 to .2 long, .005 to .015 broad, 

 loose, somewhat spreading in flower, contracted in fruit; glumes lan- 

 ceolate, acute, about eipuil, keel scabrous; lower pale shorter than 

 glumes', denticulate at tip, muticous, twice as long as upper — Summer 

 --Wet, sandy lields, and rocky places; middle to subalpine Lebanon. 



Var. scabrisluinis, Boiss. The glumes scabrous over their 

 whole outer surface — Lebanon. 



112 



