628 GRAMlNEiE. (GRASS FAMILY.) 



than the I)lunt upper one. (G. plicata, Fries.) — Shallow water ; common. 

 June- Aug. — Leaves sliort and ratlicr broad, very sniootii. I'ankle 1° long: 

 the simple branches appresscd, finally spreading below. (Va\.) 



8. G. aeutifl6ra, Torr. Spikclets 5 - 12-flowercd, few and scattered; 

 lower pellet ulilumj-lanviolate, acute, shorter than the. low/ tapering jioint of the Ujiper 

 one. — Wet places, Penn. to Maine : rather rare. June. — Resembles the last ; 

 but the erect leaves smaller, the separate flowers twice the length (4" long), and 

 less nerved. 



§2. HKLEOCHLOA, Fries. (Sdcrwhloa, ^c/. 1.) Loicer jmlrt inconspicu- 

 ously or olisoletely b-nerv<d : stigmas nearly sessile and simply plumose : grain 

 hardly grooved : saline species: panicle contracted with age. 



9. G. maritima, Wahl. (Sii.\ Spear-Grass.) Sterile shoots procumbent, 

 runner-like ; flowering culms erect ( 1° - 1^° liigh) ; branches of the panicle solitary 

 or in /xiirs; spikekts oblong or linear, 4-8-flowered; lower palet rounded at the 

 summit, slightly pubescent towards the base; leaves somewhat involute; ligulc 

 elongated. (Poa maritima, //«t/s.) — Sea coast : not rare. (Eu.) 



10. G. distans, Wahl. Culms geniculate at the base, ascending, destitute 

 of running shoots; brunches of the /lanicle .3 - .5 in a half whorl, spreading ; spike- 

 lets 3 -6-flowcred ; lower palet truncate-obtuse ; leaves mostly flat ; ligule short. 

 (P. fasciculata, Torr.) — Salt marshes along the coast. — Too like the last. (Eu.) 



32. BRIZOPYRUM, Link. Spike-Grass. (PI. 10.) 



Spikelcts and numerous flowers compressed, crowded in a densely spiked or 

 capitate panicle. Glumes herbaceous or membranaceous ; the lower faintly 

 many-nerved. Lower palet rather coriaceous, laterally much flattened, indis- 

 tinctly many-nerved, acute. Ovary stalked. — Flowers dioecious, pretty large. 

 Leaves crowded on the culms, involute, commonly rigid. (Name compounded 

 of Briza, the Qiuiking Grass, and nvpos, wluat.) 



1. B. spieatum, Hook. Culms tufted from creeping rootstocks (9'- 18' 

 high) ; spike oblong, flattened (1' long) ; spikelets ovate or oblong, .5 - 10-flow- 

 ered ; flowers smooth and naked; grain pointed. (Uniola spicata, Z^. Poa 

 Michauxii, Kunth.) — Salt marshes and shores. Aug. — Pistillate flowers more 

 rigid and almost keeled, with very long plumose stigmas ; the sterile smaller 

 and somewhat rounded on the back. 



34. POA, L. Meadow-Grass. Spear-Grass. (PI. 10.) 



Spikelets ovate or lance-ovate, laterally compressed, several- (2 - 10-) flowered, 

 in an open panicle. Glumes mostly shorter than the flowers ; the lower smaller. 

 Lower ])alct mcnibranaceo-herbaceous, with a delicate scarious jnargin, com- 

 pressed-keeled, pointless, ."i-ncrvcd (the intermediate nerves more obscure or 

 obsolete), the principal nerves commonly clothed at and towards the base with 

 soft hairs : upper palet membranaceous, 2-toothed : base of the flower often 

 cobwebby. Stamens 2 or .3. Stigmas simply plumose. Grain oblong, free. — 

 Culms tufted, from perennial roots, except No. 1. Leaves smooth, usually flat 

 and soft. (Iloa, an ancient Greek name for grass or fodder.) 



