POACEAE. 31 



glumes unequal, shorter than the lemmas, keeled, 1-nerved; 

 lemmas membranous, keeled, 3-nerved, awnless; palea shorter 

 than the lemmas, prominently 2-nerved or 2-keeled, usually- 

 persisting on the rachilla after the lemma has fallen; grain free, 

 loosely enclosed in the lemma and palea. 



Stems erect; leaves 2-12 cm. long. E. lutescens. 



Stems creeping; leaves 15-30 mm. long. E. hypnoides. 



Eragrostis lutescens Scribn. Stems tufted, erect, 10-30 cm. high, branched 

 near the base; leaf blades 2—12 cm. long, 2—4 mm. wide, scabrous above; 

 panicle silvery green, narrow, 5-10 cm. long, the branches ascending, naked 

 below; spikelets oblong, 4-7 mm. long, usually 10-12-flowered. Very rare, 

 on the sandy banks of Snake River near Almota. 



Eragrostis hypnoides (Lam.) B.S.P. Stems prostrate, creeping, much 

 branched from the base, forming dense circular mats; leaf blades 2-3 cm. long, 

 somewhat pubescent; sheaths loose, inflated, hairy; panicles very numerous, 

 pale green, dense, 2-4 cm. long, usually with their bases included in the upper- 

 most sheaths; spikelets oblong, 4-7 mm. long. Banks of Snake River, common. 



53. MELICA. 



Perennial grasses with simple stems ; inflorescence a contracted 

 or open panicle; spikelets 1 -several-flowered, often one-sided; 

 rachilla extending beyond the flowers and usually bearing 2-3 

 empty club-shaped or hooded lemmas twisted around each other; 

 glumes membranous, the lower 3-5-nerved, the upper 5-9-nerved; 

 lemmas larger, rounded on the back, 5-7-nerved, awnless, the 

 margins more or less scarious; palea broad, shorter than the 

 lemma; grain free, enclosed in the lemma and palea. 



Lemma notched at the apex, awned. M. smithii. 

 Lemma not notched at the apex, awnless. 



Apex of lemma long-acuminate. M. subulata. 



Apex of lemma obtuse. M. spectabilis. 



Melica smithii (Porter) Vasey. Glabrous; stems tufted, usually few, not 

 bulbous at base; blades flat; panicle loose, the solitary branches at length 

 spreading or reflexed; spikelets 3-6-flowered; glumes unequal; lemmas glabrous, 

 10 mm. long, the straight awns half as long or less. Rich open woodlands, 

 Blue Mountains. 



Melica subulata (Griseb.) Scribn. Glabrous; stems tufted, usually few, 

 bulbous at base; blades flat, shining; panicle narrow and rather loose, suberect, 

 10-20 cm. long; spikelets 3-5-flowered; glumes unequal, usually purplish; 

 lemmas pubescent, 12 mm. long. In open woods and copses. 



Melica spectabilis Scribn. Stems 30-90 cm. tall, erect, smooth, mostly 

 solitary, with bulbous bases about 1 cm. in diameter, these appearing on the 

 apices of stout rootstocks; stem leaves 3, rarely 4; sheaths strongly veined, 

 scabrous, nearly as long as the internodes, sometimes overlapping; blades 

 flat, linear, attenuate at apex, 10-15 cm. long, 2-4 mm. wide, glabrous on 

 both sides; panicle erect, narrow, 5-15 cm. long; lower branches mostly in 

 threes, the two outer of which are short and bear a single spikelet, the central 

 longer and bearing 2-5 spikelets; upper branches solitary, bearing a single 



