GRAMiNP:.f:. ((;ka.S8 family.') 671 



B. tect6ium, L. Leaves short; panicle lax, somewhat Isided, the more 

 miinernus pubescent spikelets ou very slender curving pedicels. — More com- 

 mon, N. Kug. to I'enu. and N. Y. (Adv. from Eu.) 



71. liOLIUM, L. I).vKNi:r.. (PI. 11.) 



Spikelets many-flowered, solitary ou each joint of tiie contiimous rhachis, 

 placed edgewi.se; emj)ty glumes, except in the terminal spikelet, onlv one 

 (the upper) and external. Otherwise nearly as in Agroj)yrum. (Ancient 

 Latin name.) 



L. I'KUENNK, L. (Common Darnel, Ray- or Hvi:-Gk.\ss.) Root peren- 

 nial ; fjlume shorter than thr spikelet ; Jiotrers 8- 1.'). awnless or sometimes short- 

 awned. — Fields and lots; eastward. June. (Nat. from Eu.) 



L. TEMULENTUM, L. (Beahdei) Daunel.) Root anuual ; culm taller; 

 outer (jlnme full ji equalling the 5 - 7-flowered spikelet ; awn lomjer than the jlower 

 {V long). — Grain-fields; rare. (Adv. from Eu.) 



72. AGROPYRUM, Gaertn. (PI. 11.) 

 Spikelets 3- many-flowered, compressed, 2-ranked, alternate on opposite 

 sides of a solitary terminal spike, single at each joint (the lowermost, or all, 

 rarely in pairs) and sessile with the side against the axis. Glumes trans- 

 verse (i. e. right and left), nearly equal and opposite, lanceolate, herbaceous, 

 nerved. Flowering glumes rigid, convex on the back, .5-7-nerved, pointed 

 or awned from the tip; palet flattened, bristly-ciliate on the nerves, adherent 

 to the groove of the grain. Stamens 3. — Our species rather coarse perennials, 

 of difficult definition. (Name from ayp6s, ajield, and wvp6s, wheat.) 

 * Multipli/ing hj long running rootstocks ; aivn shorter than the Jlower or none. 



1. A. ripens, Beauv. (Couch-, Quitch-, or Qiick-Grass.) Spikelets 

 4-8-jlou-ered, glabrous or nearly so; glumes 3-7-nerved; rhachis glabrous, 

 but rough on the edges ; awns when present straight ; leaves flat and often 

 roughish or pubescent above. (Triticum repens, L.) — Nat. from Europe in 

 cultivated grounds, fields, etc., and very troublesome ; indigenous in some of 

 its forms northwestward and on the coast, — Varies greatly. The ordinary 

 form has a narrow spike, with 3-5-fiowered spikelets, the glumes merely 

 acute and rigid-cuspidate, or acuminate, or short-awned. A tall form, rather 

 bright green, bears awns nearly as long as the glumes. Other forms abound, 

 especially ou or near the coast. A maritime variety, much resembling var. 

 glaucum, Z?o/s.s. (A. glaucum, /?. <j- S.), with large crowded .5- 10-flowered 

 spikelets and glumes very blunt or mucronate, glaucous and the leaves 

 rather rigid and pungent, occurs on the coa.st of Maine (Cape Elizabeth, 

 Tuckerman). In the more usual form of this variety, with the large spikes 

 often elongated (3-9') and the leaves less rigid, the glumes are acuminate 

 or rarely short-awned. The rhachis or the whole inflorescence and the lower 

 sheaths are sometimes very pubescent. The glabrous state, or a very similar 

 glabrous variety, is al.so abundant in the western region, from Kan. and Neb. 

 to Dak., and westward, where it is known as Blue-joint or Blue-stem. (Eu.) 



2. A. dasystachyum, Va.sey. Resembling the last ; glaucous; leaves 

 narrow and often involute; the .5 - 9-flowered spikelets denseli/ doicnij-hairy all 

 over; glumes thinner with scarious margins, mostly long-acuminate. (Triti- 

 cum dasystachyum. Gray.) — Sandy shores of Lake Huron and Superior, and 

 northward. Aug. 



