GRAMINE^. (GRASS FAMILY.) 861 



mas feathery — Tufted perennials or annuals, with convolute, rigid 

 filiform leaves, usually curved. ' 



* Aicn glabrous, or apiiressed-imlerulent, 



1. S. parviflora, Desf. H .3 to. 8; culms nearly nalced. Panicle 

 diffuse, .15 to .2 long; glumes hyaline-membranous, unequal, the lower 

 tapering into an awn .01 to .015 long; lower pale hairy at base, appres- 

 sed-hirsute at tip, awn .03 to .1, capillary, puberulent-scabridulous, 

 geniculate at first quarter of its length, twisted below knee — May — 

 Rocky places; mountains near Qaryetein (Syrian Desert); Damascus 

 Plateau, and southward to Sinai and Egypt. 



2. S. tortilis, Desf, 

 Sefsuf. .2 to .4; culms ^^"---^^ Fig. 383. 

 leafy. Panicle .1 long, con- 

 tracted, the dilated slieatli of 

 upper leaf forming an invo- 

 lucre ; glumes nearly equal, .012 long, longer than floweret,' 

 linear-lanceolate, tapering into a cusp shorter than they; lower 

 pale iDitli an acute sjmr at base, appressed-pubescent, awn .06 to 

 .1 long, once or twice geniculate and much twisted and appres- 

 sed-hairy below middle, scabrous and straight or twisted above 



— March to May — Sands and dry places ; coast to middle mount- 

 ain zone ; Jordan Valley, and southward to Sinai. A noxious 

 weed, the sharp spur of the lower pale insinuating itself into the 

 meshes of garments, and the fleece of sheep, and working its 

 way into the skin, the stiff hairs making its withdrawal difHcult. 



3. S. 3Laga§C£e, R. et Sch. 71 .5 tol; root fibrous; 

 culms sparingly leafy. Panicle erect, .3 long, loose; glumes 

 hyaline, equal, linear-lanceolate, tapering-aristate, .02 to .03 

 long; lower pale linear-lanceolate, pubescent in lines or all 

 round below, silky at truncate tip; awn .15 to .2 Floweret of stipa tortiiis. 

 long, ajppressed-puberulent — March and April — Borders of et-Tih to 

 Moab, Hauran, Damascus, Aleppo, Sof Dagh, and northward; Jaffa. 



* * Awn feathery ahove Tcnee or throughout. Hoot fibrous. Culms leafy. 



4. S. 1>ai*l>ata, Desf. % .3 to .5. Panicle few-flowered, .2 long, 

 narrow; glumes about equal, hyaline, linear-lanceolate, tapering-aris- 

 tate, .02 to .03 long; lower pale oblong-lanceolate, truncate, appressed- 

 hairy at base and along one line, and at ti^), otherwise glabrous; awn 

 .1 to .15 long, geniculate at lower fourth or third — April to June — 

 Sinai ; Lebanon and Antilebanon ; Damascus ; Kurd Dagh ; Palmyrenc 

 Desert. 



26. ARISTE1.L.A, Bertol. Artstella. 



Spikelets 1-flowered, somewhat laterally compressed, the perfect 

 floweret sessile, jointed at base. Glumes membranous, nearly equal. 

 Lower pale coriaceous, involute, bidentate a little below its tip, awn 

 straight, jointed at base; upper pale shorter, obtusely 2-keeled. Sta- 

 mens 3, with glabrous anthers. Styles 2, short, with feathery stigmas 



— Perennial with aspect of Stipa. 



A. bromoides, L. If .5 to .7, tufted; root-fibrous; culms slender, 

 rigid. Leaves long, convolute, filiform, smooth. Panicle linear, .1 to 

 .15 long, .005 broad, loose, interrupted at base, branches 2-3 together, 



