206 



Minnesota Plant Life, 



FIG. 85. Minnesota Muhlenberg grass. 

 After Britton and Brown. 



Varieties of grasses. It is not possible in the space at com- 

 mand to give any adequate idea of 

 the various species of grasses which 

 grow within the borders of the 

 state. The majority of them are 

 turf-forming plants and are marked 

 by strong underground rootstocks 

 which branch and creep beneath the 

 surface of the soil, sending lateral 

 offshoots into the light. A great 

 many different types of flower clus- 

 ters are to be met with, varying 

 from the solid spikes of the timothy 

 or millet to the very loose and 

 straggling clusters of the tumble- 

 grasses and blue-grasses. A few 

 grasses are aquatic, permitting their 



leaves to float on the surface of the water. These may be 

 recognized, when in flower or in fruit, by the characteristic 



grass-like aggregates which they 

 produce. Some are semi-aquatic, 

 finding their homes on the edges 

 of lakes or swamps, as, for ex- 

 ample, the reed-grasses and the 

 wild rice. A number of varieties 

 are found only in tamarack 

 swamps and marshes or where 

 there is an abundance of shade. 

 A few, with sparsely clustered 

 flowers and rather broad, thin 

 leaves, frequent the depths of the 

 forest, but the great majority are 

 to be looked for in meadows and 

 on the prairie. Some of them, like 

 the buffalo grass, with their shriv- 

 eled aspect and vigorous root- 

 system, indicate a strong adap- 

 tation to dry regions or deserts. 



Indian corn. Sometimes in the grasses the flowers are sep- 

 arated so that the staminate flowers occur in different clusters 



FIG. 86. Beckman grass. After Britto 

 and Brown. 



