152 



GKAMINEAE (GRASS FAMILY) 



154. M. mutica. 



Spikelet displayed 



x2. 



§ 1. EUMELICA Scribn. Glumes broad and papei-y ; sterile lemmas broad and 

 truncate, convolute around each other ; lemmas awnless. 



* Glumes subequal, nearly as long as the 2-Jlowered spikelets. 



1. M. mutica Walt. Culms erect from knotted rootstocks, wiry, 6-9 dm. high ; 

 sheaths usually overlapping, scabrous ; lower blades short, the upper 10-20 cm. 



long, 2-10 mm. wide; panicle 0.8-2.5 dm. long, simple, with 

 filiform ascending branches or reduced to a raceme ; spikelets 

 7-10 mm. long, pendulous on short pedicels, florets spreading, 

 6-8 mm. long; lemmas scabrous, obtuse^ the intermediate nerves 

 vanishing above ; empty lemmas cucullate above, exceeded by 

 the' fertile ones.— Dry rocky open woods and thickets. Pa. to 

 Fla., w. to Wis., la , and Tex. Apr., May. Fig. 154. — From 

 Va. southw. occasional specimens have sparsely pubescent 

 sheaths and the blades somewhat pubescent on the lower sur- 

 face, (il/. diffusa Pursh ; M. mutica, var. diffusa Gray) ; not 

 varietally distinct. 



* * Glumes unequal, shorter than the S-o-Jlowered spikelets. 



2. M. nitens Nutt. Culms 8-12 dm. high, erect from a short horizontal 

 ^■ootstock ; sheaths overlapping, glabrous ; blades 1-2 dm. long, 4-8 mm. wide ; 

 panicle 1.5-2.5 dm. long, the slender spreading branches solitary or in pairs, 

 simple or sparingly branched ; spikelets numerous, 10-12 mm. long, usually 

 3-flowered, pendulous on short pedicels; lemmas 7-9 mm. long, scabrous, acute; 

 empty lemmas broad at the summit, exceeded by the fertile ones. (3/. diffusa 

 of recent authors, not Pursh.) — Rocky woods, Pa. to Neb., and southw. May, 

 June. 



o. M. Porteri Scribn. Culms erect, slender, 5-7.5 dm. high; sheaths over- 

 lapping, scabrous; blades 12-23 cm. long, 2-6 mm. wide, scabrous; panicle 

 1.5-2.5 dm. long; the narrow spikelets pendulous and racemose along the 

 slender ascending branches, 4c-Q-flowered, 10-18 mm, long ; lemmas 7-8 mm. 

 long, subacute, scabrous ; empty lemmas like the fertile ones and exceeding 

 them. {M. parviflora Scribn.) — Bluffs and stony hillsides, la. to Mo., and 

 westw. 



§2. BROMELICA Thurb. Glumes narrow, scarious-margined ; sterile lem- 

 mas similar to the fertile which are awned below the bidentate apex ; spike- 

 lets b-9-Jlowered. 



4. M. Smithii C Porter) Vasey. Culms 

 erect, slender, 7-12 dm. high ; sheaths sca- 

 brous ; blades 10-20 cm. long, 6-12 mm. 

 wide, lax, scabrous; panicle 1.2-2.5 dm. 

 long, the solitary remote spreading branches 

 spikelet-bearing toward the ends ; spikelets 

 3-6-flowered, 18-20 mm. long, more or less 

 tinged with purplish chestnut ; glumes acute ; 

 lemmas glabrous, about 10 min. long, ex- 

 cluding the awn, which is ^| as long. (Avena Porter.) 

 — Moist woodlands, n. Mich, and westw. May-»Tuly. Fig. 

 155. 



5. M. striata (Michx.) Hitchc. Similar to the preceding, 

 usually not so tall and more slender ; leaves narrower ; sheaths 

 closed to the summit, the ligvle sheathing the culm; panicle- 

 branches ascending or spreading at the ends ; spikelets 2.2- 

 2.5 cm. long; glumes broader, conspicuously colored as are 



156. M. striata X 1. often the florets which are short-bearded at the base; aimi 



Spikelet with gliiiiics as long as the lemma or longer. (Arena Michx.) — Rocky 



separated. wooded lands, e. Que. to l*a., Minn., and westw. Fig, 



Floret. 156. 



155, M. Smithii. 



Spikelet displayed 



x%. 



