Alopecurus. GRAMINE.E. 263 



close ; ligule long : spike 1 to 6 inches long : glumes about a line long, with scarious 

 margins and green keel, which is ciliate with stiff hairs and prolonged into a rigid 

 rough awn shorter than itself. 



A native of Europe, naturalized in various localities ; also extensively cultivated under the 

 name of Timothy (but in New England and New York commonly known as Herds-grass), and 

 furnishing by far the greater portion of the cultivated hay of the country. 



2. P. alpinum, Linn. Perennial, with culms 1 to 2 feet high : sheaths of the 

 upper leaves very loose or inflated, the lower ones close; ligule short : spike ovoid 

 or oblong, rarely more than an inch long, usually purplish : glumes strongly fringed 

 on the back, bearing an awn about their own length. Trin. Spec. Gram, i, t. 21 ; 

 Reichenb. Icon. Fl. Germ. i. 63, t. 179. P. Hcenkeanum, Presl, Rel. H3nk. i. 245. 



Occurring sparingly near San Francisco, but common in the Sierra Nevada and northward. 

 Found also in the alpine regions of Europe, Asia and North America. 



8. ALOPECURUS, Linn. FOX-TAIL GRASS. 



Panicle dense, cylindrical, spike-like. Spikelets much compressed, 1 -flowered. 

 Glumes boat-shaped, nearly equal, somewhat united below, keeled but not awned. 

 Floret equalling or barely shorter than the glumes. Lower palet hyaline, 1-nerved, 

 with a very slender awn on the back at or below the middle ; upper palet entirely 

 wanting. Scales none. Stamens 3. Ovary smooth : styles long, mostly united ; 

 stigmas long with simple hairs. Grain laterally compressed, inclosed in the palet. 



There are about 14 mostly perennial species, widely spread over the temperate and colder por- 

 tions of the globe, one of which, A. jrratensis, the Meadow Fox -tail, is much valued in Europe as 

 a pasture grass. With much of the aspect of Phleum, but soft to the touch, and readily distin- 

 guished from that genus by the absence of the upper palet. 



* Culm erect. 



1. A. pratensis, Linn. Culms from a perennial root, stoloniferous, upright, 

 1 to 3 feet high : leaves roughish, flat ; sheaths smooth, the upper inflated and 

 longer than its leaf : spike 2 to 3 inches long, obtuse, dense, pale green, soft to the 

 touch : glumes 2 lines long, with short hairs on the keel : palet equalling the glumes, 

 its edges united below ; awn variable, usually projecting more than half its length 

 beyond the glumes. Trin. Spec. Gram, i, t. 44 ; Keichenb. Icon. Fl. Germ. t. 178. 



Probably introduced by the Spaniards, as it was collected in 1846 in Sacramento Valley (Hart- 

 weg) ; Walnut Creek (Brewer) ; Ukiah City, Bolander. A widely distributed species, native of 

 the Old World, now naturalized in most temperate countries. It is much esteemed as a pasture 

 grass on account of its early and rapid growth. 



* * Culms decumbent. 



2. A. aristulatUS, Michx. Culms ascending from a decumbent base, 1 to 2 

 feet high : leaves glaucous : spike about 2 inches long, slender and very pale green : 

 glumes obtuse, the palet slightly exceeding them ; awn attached just below the mid- 

 dle of the palet and barely exceeding it: anthers oblong. A. geniculatus, var. 

 aristulatus, Torr. in Pacif. R. Rep. vi. 92. 



Wet places, Klamath Marshes (Bigclow, Lemmon) ; Virginia City (Bloomer) ; Oregon and 

 northward. This grass, which is common in the Eastern States and in Continental Europe, has 

 little agricultural value. 



3. A. geniculatus, Linn. Culm procumbent at base, ascending from the lower 

 nodes where it is bent, 6 inches to 1 foot high or more : leaves narrow, glabrous ; 

 sheaths loose, but not inflated, the upper leaf equalling its sheath : spike 1 to 2 

 inches long, closely imbricated and slender ; spikelets about a line long : glumes 

 connate at base, silky-hairy, obtuse : palet slightly shorter than the glumes ; awn 

 from near its base, and projecting half its length beyond it : anthers linear, purplish. 

 Trin. 1. c., t. 42 ; Keichenb. 1. c. 



