ORDER 156. GRAMINE^E. 7T3 



1. LEER'SIA, Soland. CUT GRASS. FALSE RICE. (In honor of 

 John Daniel Leers, a German botanist.) Spikelets 1-flowered, , flat; 

 glumes none ; paleas boat-shaped, compressed, awnless, bristly-ciliate on 

 the keel, nearly equal in length but the lower much broader, enclosing 

 the free, flat grajn (caryopsis). 21 Swamp grasses, with flat, retro rsely 

 rough-edged leaves, and the fls. raceinous-paniculatc, somewhat secund, 

 jointed to the pedicels. 



1 D. oryzoides Swartz CUT GRASS. Culm retrorsely scabrous, 3 5f high; Iv* 

 lanceolate, carinate, the margin very rough backwards; sheaths also very rough with 

 retrorse prickles; panicle much branched, diffuse, sheathed at the base; apikelets 

 spreading; palece full 2" long, ciliateon tJie keel, white, compressed and closed ; sta. 

 3. 11 A. very rough grass, common in swamps, by streams, etc., U. S. and Can. 

 Aug. 



2 L. Virgiiiica \Yilld. \YmiE GRASS. Culm slender, branched, geniculate or 

 decumbent at base, 2 3f long, nodes retrorsely hairy ; Ivs. lance-linear, roughish; 

 sheaths roughish backwards, striate; panicle simple, at length much exserted, the 

 lower branches diffuse; fls. pedicellate, in short, appressed, flexuous racemes; 

 lower palea scarcely more than 1" long, green-veined, mucronate; sta. 1 2.-~2 

 Damp woods, U. S. and Can. Aug. 



3 L. lenticralaris Michx. CATCH-FLY GRASS. Plant smoothish; culm erect, 

 2 4f high ; panicle erect; fls. large, roundish-oval, near 3" diam., imbricated- 

 sta. 2 ; pales with the keel and veins ciliate. 2{ Wet places, Ct. (Eaton) to 111. 

 and S. States. Not common. Said to catch flies by the sudden closing of its 

 pales. 



2. ORY'ZA, L. BICE. (Gr. opv^a, from the Arabic, Eruz.) Spike- 

 lets 1-flowered, ; glumes 2, very small, cuspidate; pales 2, boat- 

 shaped, flattened, the lower one broader and mostly tipped with a 

 straight awn ; stain. G ; stigmas with branching hairs ; grain oblong, 

 free, smooth, enveloped in the pales. Mostly (T). Fls. in a branching 

 panicle of racemes. Spikes hispid, jointed to the pedicel. 



O. sativa L. Culm 2 4f high, striate ; Ivs. long, rough, lance-linear ; ligule 

 long (near 1'), erect, pointed; panicle with erect branches, 6 9' in length ; outer 

 pale strongly 5-veined or keeled, Jiispid-ciliate and commonly tipped with a short 

 awn. Extensively cultivated in the S. States, both in upland meadows aud in 

 1 nv inundated grounds. The former variety the upland rice, is usually awnless, 

 the latter is awned. A most important Cereal, f Asia. 



3. ZIZA^NIA, Gron. INDIAN RICE. (Ztiydviov, the Greek name of 

 Borne similar plant) 8 Glumes 0; spikelets 1-flowered ; palea) 2, 

 herbaceous. $ Palea) subequal, awnless ; stamens 6. $ Spikelcts 

 subulate ; palea? unequal, linear, lower one with a straight awn ; styles 

 2 ; caryopsis enveloped in the plicate palea3. Stout, aquatic grasses, 

 with a large panicle of both kinds of flowers. 



1 Z. aquatica L. Culm ' in diameter, fistular, smooth, 6f high ; Ivs. lance- 

 linear, 2 3f long, an inch'wide, smooth, serrulate ; panicle a foot or more long, 

 pyramidal, the loioer branches divaricate and sterile, the upper spicate and fertile' 

 spike-lets on clavate pedicels; awns long (18"), hispid; fr. slender, ' long, black- 

 ish, very caducous, farinaceous. ''4- Inundated shores of ponds and rivers, U. S. 

 and Can. The fruit, which is very abundant, affords sustenance to wild geese, 

 ducks, and other water fowls. Aug. 



2 Z. miliacea Michx. Culm erect, C lOf high; Ivs. very long, narrow, glau- 

 cous; panicle large, diffuse, pyramidal; glumes vrith short (1 3 ') awns; c and 

 $ fls. intermixed; sty. 1; fr. ovate, glabrous. 1C Growing in water, Ohio to 

 Flo, and La, Lva. coriaceou?, 2 3f long, G 12' wide. Apr. Aug. 



3 Z. ? fluitans Michx. Culm long, slender, branching, floating in the water ; 



