PLANTS^ OF RT^JRMITDA, 93 



wiry stems, two to four feet high ; leaves two to three feet long, 

 slender, the edges rolled together, tapering to a bri.stle-like point ; 

 spikes five to ten, shortly stalked, alternate, two to three inches 

 long; spikelets three-eighths of an inch long; glumes unequal, 

 outer harshly serrulate and awned, inner half as long and equal to 

 the paleoe. Distribution, United States ; habitat, small rocky islets, 

 Hamilton to Sound, and seashores, common. A rush- like grass, 

 forming dense clumps, sometimes growing below high-water mark. 



VI. ELrSIXE, 



Spikelets five to six flowered^ dcmchj imbricated on the und-cr side of the 

 digitate spikes. 



1. IJ. Indicii (Cock's-fout grass). An annual grass, growing in 

 coarse tufts ; stems tough, twelve to eighteen inches high, branch- 

 ing at the procumbent base ; leaves flat, six to eighteen iiiches long, 

 together with the loose sheath, clothed with long, scattered hairs ; 

 spikes fom' to eight, one usually distant lower down the stem, the 

 remainder spreading at the summit, two to three inches long ; 

 spikelets awnless, closely imbricated beneath the slender axis ; 

 glumes unequal, membranous at the margin. A widely -distributed 

 species ; habitat, wayfides, path'^, and cultivated ground. July to 

 October. 



0. ranlde very compact, ^pihe-lihe in ovate or oi/lindricai headii. 



VII. rOLYPOGOX. 



Spikelet one-jlowcredy outer glume bearing long awns. 



1. P. mompeliensis. A small, annual, seaside grass; stems half 

 to one foot high, decumbent below ; leaves flat, narrow, four to six 

 inches long ; panicle one to two inches long, oblong, blunt, with 

 short, much-divided and densely-flowered branches ; awns silky, 

 twice as long as the glumes. Distribution, Europe and United 

 States ; habitat, seaside rocks, where it grows in little stunted 

 tufts. Some subsoil at the Naval Hospital produced a large and 

 vigorous crop over a foot in height. Panicle greenish -yellow ; May. 



VIII. SET AIM A. 



Spikelets two-Jlowered^ the lower imperfect, surrounded bg rough awn- 

 like bristles, tvhirh arise from below the spikelet. Annual sub-erect 

 grasses. 



1. S. viridis. Stem rough, one to two feet high ; leaves flat, nar- 

 rowly lanceolate, rough on the margin, sheath ciliate ; panicle much 

 branched but contracted and spike -like, two inches in length ; 

 bristles in clusters much longer than the spikelets, roughened up- 

 wards. Distribution, Northern United States ; habitat, cultivated 

 ground, common. Panicle green with purplish bristles; March to 

 May. 



2f S, verticillata. This species is of similar growth to the last ; it 



