2 5 



GRAMINEAE. 



VOL. I. 



i. Distichlis spicata (L.) Greene. Marsh Spike-grass. Alkali-grass. Salt-grass. 



Fig- 599- 



Uniola spicata L. Sp. PI. 71. 1753. 

 Distichlis maritima Raf. Journ. Phys. 89: 104. 1819. 

 Uniola slricta Torr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. i : 155. 1824. 

 D. spicata Greene, Bull. Cal. Acad. 2: 415. 1887. 

 Distichlis spicata var. stricta Scribn. Mem. Torr. Club 

 5: 51. 1894. 



Glabrous throughout, culms 3 '-2 tall, erect from 

 a horizontal rootstock, .or often decumbent at the 

 base. Sheaths overlapping and often crowded ; ligule 

 a ring of very short hairs; blades -6' long, i"-2" 

 wide, flat or involute ; panicle dense and spike-like, 

 |'-2i' in length, the branches i' long or less, erect; 

 spikelets 6-i6-flowered, 4"-9" long, pale green ; empty 

 scales acute, the first i-3-nerved, two-thirds as long 

 as the 3-5-nerved second one; flowering scales il"- 

 2\" long, acute or acuminate. 



On salt meadows along the coast from Nova Scotia 

 to Texas, in saline soil throughout the interior, and 

 on the Pacific Coast north to British Columbia. Also 

 in the Bahamas and other West Indies. The main figure 

 is that of the staminate plant. June-Sept. 



1. B. media. 



2. B. minor. 



89. BRIZA L. Sp. PL 70. 1753. 



Annual or perennial grasses, with flat or convolute leaf-blades and open or rarely con- 

 tracted panicles. Spikelets large, flattened, tumid, many-flowered, nodding, the flowers perfect. 

 Scales thin-membranous, strongly concave, the 2 lower empty, 3-5-nerved, somewhat unequal ; 

 flowering scales imbricated, broader than the empty ones, 5-many -nerved ; uppermost scales 

 often empty; palets much shorter than the scales, hyaline, 2-keeled or 2-nerved. Stamens 3. 

 Styles distinct. Stigmas plumose. Grain usually free, enclosed in the scale and palet. [Greek 

 name for some .grain, perhaps rye.] 



About 12 species, natives of the Old World and temperate South America. Type species: 

 Briza minor L. 



Perennial; ligule y 2 " long or less, truncate; spikelets 5-i2-flowered, 2"-2^" long. 

 Annual; ligule i" long or more, acute; spikelets 3-6 flowered, i" ij" long. 



i. Briza media L. Quake-grass. Quaking- 

 grass. Fig. 600. 



Briza media L. Sp. PI. 70. 1753. 



Smooth and glabrous, culms 6'-2 tall, erect, 

 from a perennial root, simple. Sheaths shorter 

 than the internodes ; ligule I" long or less, trun- 

 cate; blades i'-3' long, i"-2j" wide; panicle ij'-s' 

 in length, the capillary branches spreading or as- 

 sending, i'-2i' long; spikelets 2"-2i" long, orbicu- 

 lar to deltoid-ovate, S-12-flowered ; scales scarious- 

 margined, the lower ones about i" long; flowering 

 scales i"-ii" long, broader than the lower ones, 

 widely spreading. 



In fields and waste places, Ontario to Massachu- 

 setts and Rhode Island. Naturalized from Europe. 

 Native also of Asia. Maidenhair, Shakers, Cow-quake, 

 Lady's-hair, Wag-wanton. Pearl-, Fairy-, Dodder- 

 Dithering- or Jockey-grass. June-July. 



