440 GRAMINE^. ViLF*. 



4. ViLFA HETEROLEPis, Gray. Strong-scented Vilfa. 



Leaves setaceous ; panicle pyramidal, sparsely flowered ; lower glume subulate ; the 

 upper one ovate, cuspidate, about twice the length of the lower ; paleae nearly equal, point- 

 less, a little shorter than the upper glume. — Gray in ann. lye. N. York, 3. p. 233 ; Sullivant, 

 cat. pi. Columb. p. 61. 



Perennial. Culm 1-2 feet high, smooth. Leaves convolute-setaceous, the lower ones 

 equaling the culm ; the upper much shorter : lower sheaths hairy ; upper ones smooth. 

 Panicle pyramidal, spreading or somewhat contracted ; the branches solitary, nearly simple, 

 few and loosely flowered. Glumes purplish ; the lower one reduced to a mere bristle : upper 

 one membranaceous, smooth, ovate or ovate-oblong, one-nerved ; the nerve produced into a 

 short cusp. Paleae rather obtuse, oblong-lanceolate, thin and membranaceous ; the upper one 

 a little shorter than the lower. Stamens 3 : anthers large, linear, orange-red. Styles very 

 short : stigmas hairy. Caryopsis somewhat globose, smooth and shining. 



On rocks, Watertown, Jefi"erson county {Dr. Crawe ; Dr. Gray). Mr. Sullivant remarks 

 that this grass emits a strong odor like that of Poa Eragrostis, which is perceptible at the 

 distance of three or four feet. 



5. Vilfa cryptandra. Large-panicled Vilfa. 



Panicle pyramidal, the base usually inclosed in the upper sheath, with spreading mostly 

 alternate branches, which are hairy in the axils ; spikelets racemose ; flowers awnless ; lower 

 glume very short ; the upper one as long as the nearly equal lanceolate acute paleas ; sheaths 

 bearded at the throat. — Agrostis cryptandra, Torr. in ann. lye. N. York, 1. p. 151. 



Perennial. Culm 1 J - 3 feel high, simple, leafy, smooth. Leaves 2-3 lines long, smooth 

 on both sides : sheaths pubescent along the margin, and densely bearded at the throat, the 

 rest smooth. Panicle large, mostly of a dull bluish color, bursting from the upper sheath, 

 which partly conceals its base ; the branches bearing the numerous spikelets in a dense 

 racemose manner. Glumes smooth, acute ; the lower one about half the length of the upper, 

 without nerves except the midrib : upper one lanceolate. Paleee a little rough on the keel. 

 Stamens 3 : anthers yellowish. Styles distinct : stigmas white. Caryopsis ovoid, reddish 

 brown. Scales 2, lanceolate, collateral. 



Banks of the Erie canal, near Buffalo, in sandy soils {Dr. Aiken). Fl. August. This 

 species was first found by Dr. James, in Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains. It has 

 since been detected in Ipswich, Massachusetts, by Mr. Oakes, and I have specimens of it 

 from several other parts of the United States. 



