16::: 



GR AMINE AE (GRASS FAMILY) 



175. F. o\ina. 

 Spikelet x 5. 



6-10 cm. lontj, branches ascending; spikeJets 5-7.5 myn. lovg. 

 3-6 (rarely 'J)-flowered, usually pale ; florets rather close ; lemma 

 smooth or slightly scabrous, ;3-8.5 mm. long^ attenuate into an 

 av'n 1 mm. long or more. — Occurs native in nearly typical form 

 about the Great Lakes and in the White Mts. ; also introduced 

 from Eu. Fig, 1 75. — The native form tends to have a strict narrow 

 panicle, differing in this respect from the typical European plant. 

 Var. HispiDULA Hack. Lemmas hirsute. — Sparingly introduced, 

 X. Y. and Pa. (Eu.). Var. capillata (Lam.) Hack. Lemiua 

 awnless ; leaves very slender. — Me. to N. J.. Mich., and north w. 

 (Nat. from Eu.) Var. brevifolia (R. Br.) Hack. Culms 5-10 

 cm. high; sheaths closed; blades soft. — Calcareous cliffs, ISfd., 

 e. Que., Vt., and northw. Var. duriuscula (L.) Koch. Leaf- 

 blades thick, flattened, 0.7-1 mm. wide. — Sparingly introduced. 

 Wis. and la. (Adv. from Eu.) 



7. F. elAtior L. (Taller or Meadow Fescue.) Loosely tufted, often 

 with short creeping rootstocks ; culms erect, 5-12 dm. high, smooth ; blades 

 1-6 dm. long, 4-8 mm. wide, scabrous above ; panicle erect, 

 1-2 dm. long, contracted after blooming, branches spikelet- 

 hearing nearly to the base; spikelets 9-11 mm. long; glumes 

 lanceolate ; lemma oblong-lanceolate, scabrous at the summit, 

 the scarious apex acute, rarely short-awned. {F. pratensis 

 Huds.) — Meadows and waste places, throughout the U. S. 

 and s. Can. June-Aug. (Nat. from Eu.) Fig. 176. 



8. F. nutans Spreng. Culms solitary or few, erect, 4-12 

 dm. high; sheaths glabrous or pubescent; blades 1-3 dm. 

 long. 4-7 mm. wide, scabrous, sometimes puberulent above ; 

 panicle very loose, 1-2 dm. long, usually subsecund, and 

 more or less nodding, branches spikelet-hearing near the 

 ends, at first erect, finally spreading ; spikelets 3-5-flowered, 

 5-7 mm. long ; glumes firm, the first 3 mm., the second 4 mm. long ; lemma 



smooth, oblong-ovate, subacute, the narrow margin hyaline. — 

 Moist woods and copses, N. S. to Minn., and southw, June, 

 July. Fig. 177. 



9. F. Sh6rtii Kunth. Similar to the preceding ; panicle more 

 compact, the branches spikelet-bearing from about the middle; 

 the glames slightly longer; the lemma broader, more obtuse. — 

 Wet prairies. 111., la., Kan., and soutliw. 



10. F. gigantea (L.) Vill. Culms 6-12 dm. high; blades 

 1.2-4 dm. long, 5-15 mm. wide, paler and roughened on the 

 upper surface, margins very scabrous ; panicle 1-4 dm. long, at 

 length spreading, somewhat drooping ; spikelets 10-13 mm. long, 



; glumes hyaline-margined ; lemma sparsely scabrous, bidentate 

 at the scarious apex, bearing an awn more than twice as long. — Waste places, 

 near the coast, Me. to N. Y., rare. (Adv. from Eu.) 



176. ¥. elatior x ll^. 

 Spikelet, floret, and 



base of lemma 



(opened). 



177. F. nutans. 

 Spikelet x 8. 



5-9-flowered 



76. BR6mUS L. Brome Grass 



Spikelets few-many-flowered ; glumes unequal, acute, 1-5-nerved ; lemmas 

 lunger than the glumes, convex or sometimes keeled, o-O-nerved, usually 

 2-tO()thed at the apex, awnless or awned from between the teeth or just below ; 

 palea a little shorter than the lemma, 2-keeled ; grain furrowed, adnate to the 

 palea. — Annuals, biennials, or perennials witli flat leaves and terminal panicles 

 of rather large .spikelets. (An ancient name for the oat, from fipw/xa, food.) 



Annuals or biennials. 

 Lemiiju broadly elliptical ; awn wanting or not over 1 cm. long. 

 Awn, if present, straight. 



Sheaths glabrous . , 



Sheaths pubcso^'nt. 



Awn about as long as the narrow lemmas. 



Panicle rather dense, erect 



1. B. aecalinua. 



2. B. hordeaceus. 



