472 GRASS FAMILY. 



B. sterilis, Liiui. Leaves rather downy, but the euhii glabrous ; i):ini- 

 cle open ; the spikelets on long, nearly straight, and simple peduncles ; 

 the slender, awl-like flowers 5-!), and 7-nerved, and roughish ; the awn 1' 

 long. Not yet comuion. (I) (2j 



B. tectdrum, Linn. More conniion tlian the last ; panicle lax and some- 

 what 1-sided; the spikelets pabe.scent and more numentus, on very slen- 

 der, curving pedicels ; leaves short. ® (2) 



+- •<- Spikelets of ordinari/ or small size', spreadiittj or erect. 

 = Flowers not awned. 



P6a. Meadow Guass. Severa.1 common si)ecips ; known by the open 

 panicle of 8-10-ttowered spikelets ; the ulumcs and flowering glumes blunt 

 (no awn nor pointed tip), the latter laterally (m impress; d and boat-shaped, 

 with scarious or wiiite, memliranaceous edges, and usually some delicate, 

 cobwebby hairs towards tlie base. The commonest is Jink Grass, already 

 mentioned, which is sometimes a weed. The only other weedy ones are : 



P. dnnua, Linn. Low Speak Grass. Very low, weedy grass in cult, 

 ground, waste places, paths, etc. Flowers in spring or again in sum- 

 mer. Eu. 



P. compressa, Linn. Wire Grass, English Blue Grass. In cul- 

 tivated soil, often a very bad intruder ; pale, with low, very flat steuis, 

 risuig obliquely from a creeping base ; panicle small. Eu. y. 



Pinicum capillire, Linn. Timble Grass, Old Witch Grass. A 

 diffuse plant, common in cornfields and other cultivated grounds, and 

 rolling before the wind in the fall ; sheaths, and usually the leaves, hairy ; 

 panicle very compound, with long, capillary divisions ; spikelet with 1 

 perfect flower, the lower glume half the length of the upper empty one. 



= = Flowers tcith a bent or twisted awn. 



II One floioer perfect, and one staminate only. 



Arrenatherum avenaceum, Beauv. Oat Grass, Grass of the Andes. 

 Rather coarse but soft grass, introduced from Eu. into meadows and 

 fields ; thin and very unequal glumes, including a staminate flower, the 

 lower glume of which bears a long, bent awn below its middle ; above this 

 a perfect flower with its glume bristle-pointed from near the tip, and above 

 that a rudiment of a third flow*r. Sometimes grown as a meadow grass, 

 S. and W. 11 



H6lcus lanatus, Linn. Velvet Grass, Meadow Soft Grass. Intro- 

 duced from Eu. into meadows and yards, not very common, l^°-2° high, 

 well distinguished by its paleness and velvety softness, being soft downy 

 all over ; panicle crowded ; the flowers oidy 2 in the .spikelet, small, rather 

 distant, the lower one perfect and awnless, the ui)per staminate and with 

 a curved or hooked awn below the tip. 11 



II II Fhnoers several {about 7) in the spikelet. 



Danth6nia spicita, Beauv. Poverty Grass. A thin, wild grass, 

 l°-2° high, growing in .sterile soils ; spikelets few and wliiti.sh, subspi- 

 cate ; flowering glume loosely hairy, with stout and pointless teeth, be- 

 tween which arises a conspicuous awn ; tufted, with very narrow leaves. 11 



* * Flowers in .^ipikes or dense spike-like panicles. (For Bermuda Gra.ss, 

 see IV.) 



t- Spikelets strictUj spiked, all on one side of a flattened, jointless rhachis, 

 much crowded; the 2—5 spikes digitate, i.e. all on the apex of the flower- 

 ing stem. Finger Grass might be sought here; see Panicum, next ptage. 



Elus)ne Indica, Gsertn. Crab Grass, Yard Grass, Dog's-tail Grass, 

 or Wire (jrass. Introduced only in yards or lawns N., more abundant S., 

 where it is valuable for cattle ; low, si)reading pale ; flowers 3-5 or more 



