212 



A TEXT-BOOK OF GRASSES 



harbata. (See Translation of Trabut's article in Journal 



of Heredity 5: 56. 1914.) 



241. Arrhenatherum Beauv. — To this 

 small genus belongs the tall oat-grass {A. 

 elatius), a tall perennial with narrow pani- 

 cles of spikelets similar to those of the oat 

 but smaller, about 8 mm. long, 2-flowered, 

 the first floret staminate and awned, the 

 second perfect and nearly awnless. This is 

 a native of Europe and now cultivated 

 occasionally in this country as a meadow- 

 grass, especially in mixtures. It is also called 

 Randall-grass. 



Arrhenatherum elatius (L.) Beauv. (Fig. 45.) 

 Tall oat-grass. Perennial; culms erect, smooth, 3 to 

 4 feet high, sheaths smooth; ligule membranaceous, 

 truncate, about 1 mm. long; blades narrow, usually 

 not over }4 inch wide, scabrous on both surfaces; 

 panicle long and narrow, rather loose, 6 to 10 inches 

 long, pale or purplish, shining, the short branches 

 verticillate, usually spikelet-bearing from the base; 

 spikelets 7 to 8 mm. long, the glumes minutely sca- 

 brous, unequal, the second nearly as 

 long as the florets; lemmas scabrous, the 

 awn of the staminate floret about twice 

 the length of its lemma, geniculate, sca- 

 brous. Often escaped from cultivation 

 and a weed in waste places in the humid 

 region. 



Arrhenatherum elatius hvlbosum (Presl) 

 Koch. Differs from the preceding in pro- 

 ducing corms at the base of the stems. 

 These corms are 5 to 10 mm. in diameter 

 in clusters of usually 2 to 5 in moniliform 

 FiQ. 45. Arrhenatherum strings. An occasional introduction, from 



elatius. Inflorescence, XJi; tt- • • xi. j 



spikelet, X4. Virgima southward. 



