GENUS 80. 



GRASS FAMILY. 



2 39 



i. Eragrostis capillaris (L.) Xces. Lace-grass. Tiny Love-grass. Fig. 572. 



Poa capillaris L. Sp. PI. 68. 1753. 

 Poa tennis Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. i : 156. 1817. 

 Eragrostis capillaris Nees, Agrost. Bras. 505. 1829. 

 E. tennis Ell.; Steud. Syn. Gram. 273. 1855. 



Culms 8'-i8' tall, erect, slender, sparingly branched 

 at the base, smooth and glabrous. Sheaths short, 

 overlapping and crowded at the base of the culm, 

 glabrous or sparingly hairy, the upper enclosing the 

 base of the panicle ; ligule a ring of very short hairs ; 

 blades 3'-io' long, i"-2" wide, long-acuminate, 

 smooth beneath, scabrous above and sparingly hir- 

 sute near the base; panicle diffuse, 4'-! 5' in length, 

 the branches capillary, spreading or ascending, i-$' 

 long ; spikelets ovate, 2-4-flowered, little flattened, 

 i"-ii" long; empty scales about equal, acute; flow- 

 ering scales acute, the lower f" long, the lateral 

 nerves obscure. 



In dry places, New Hampshire to Kansas, south to 

 Georgia and Texas. Aug.-Sept. 



2. Eragrostis hirsuta (Michx.) Nees. 

 Stout Love-grass. Fig. 573. 



Poa hirsuta Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1 : 68. 1803. 

 Eragrostis hirsuta Nees, Agrost. Bras. 508. 1829. 



Culms densely tufted, rather stout, 2-4$ tall; 

 sheaths, at least the lower ones, strongly papillose- 

 hispid, each with a tuft of hairs at the apex; 

 blades of the lower leaves i-2 long, less than 

 5" \\ide, long-acuminate, flat ; panicle 2o'-3 long, 

 diffuse, its branches finally widely spreading; 

 spikelets 3-5-flowered, ii"-2" long, the flowering 

 scales i"-rl" long. 



In dry fields, thickets and woodlands, Virginia (ac- 

 cording to Kearney) to Florida and Texas. July- 

 Sept. 



3. Eragrostis Frankii Steud. Frank's Love- 

 grass. Fig. 574. 



Eragrostis Frankii Steud. Syn. PI. Gram. 273. 1855. 

 E. erythrogona Nees; Steud. Syn. PL Gram. 273. 1855. 



Glabrous, culms 6'-i5' tall, tufted, erect, or often 

 decumbent at the base, branched, smooth. Sheaths 

 loose, shorter than the internodes ; ligule a ring of 

 hairs; blades 2'-$' long, i"-2" wide, smooth beneath, 

 scabrous above; panicle 2'-6' in length, open, the 

 branches ascending, the lower i'-ii' long; spikelets 

 ovate, 3-5-flowered, i"-i*" long; empty scales acute, 

 the first shorter than the second; flowering scales acute, 

 the lower \" long, the lateral nerves obscure. 



In moist places, Massachusetts to Minnesota, Mississippi, 

 Louisiana and Kansas. Short-stalked Meadow-grass. Sept.- 

 Oct. 



