^W«- GRAMINE/E. 267 



14. COLEANTHUS, S-idrl. Riipatii-flowkkint. Grass. 

 Panicle, like the whole plant, niimite, Hi.ui)le or branelied, the llowers in nnibel- 

 lato clusters of short l-llowered rays. Spikelcts ],et\veen one lialf and one lino long. 

 Cluraes none. Palets membranaceous, very unequal, the lower lo.iger, 1 -nerved, 

 acuminately awncd ; the upper one-half shorter, with two divergent nerves, 2-keeledi 

 bitid at apex, the divisions acuminate. Scales none. Stamens 2 ; anthers oblong.' 

 Ovary sessile, smooth: stigmas sessile, denticulate with subulate hairs. Grai'ii 

 oblong, somewhat longer than the palets, which are persistent and surround its base, 

 the surface roughened with minute dots. 



Trh!in,"?^!!.Vr".'^'f'"i''' I'l.t a single annual specins, with flowers of excoedingly simple structure. 

 Innu s leganl.-d the series of floral envelopes as glumes, and described a palet which others fail 



to make out 



1. C. subtilis, Seidel. Culms slender, forming loose tufts, 1 to 3 inches hi"h 

 decund)ont at base, ascending, geniculate, often branched below : leaves about i incli 

 ong and wulo in proportion, curved, smooth ; ligido elongated, acute ; sheaths all 

 oose and dilated, scarious on the margins, tlie upper inflated : panicle A to U inches 

 ong, Its base included in the upper sheath, mostly siiiii)lo with three or four umbel- 

 late clusters, sometimes with one or rarely two short branches, with an umbel at 

 the end; pedicels longer than the spikelets, scabrous: palets roughened on the 

 keel. — IJeichenb. Icon. Fl. Germ. i. GI, t. 177. Schmidtia ulriadosa, Sternb. ; 

 Nees, Uen. t. 27. ' 



Sauvics Island, Oregon, Howell. This, which until Mr. Ilowell's discovery was only known 

 OS a rnre grass in northern Europe, is so very small that it may readily escape n"otice. It is to be 

 looked lor along the muddy marguis of rivers, especially in the northern part of the State. 



15. VILFA, Adans. Rush-Grass. 

 Panicle narrow, dense and spike-like or sparsely flowered, sometimes included by 

 the upper sheath. Spikelets l-flowered, membranaceo-chaitaceous. Glumes l-nerved, 

 not awned but sometimes pointed, the lower usually smaller. Floret sessile or with 

 a very minute callus, usually longer than the glumes. Palets similar in texture to 

 the glumes, mostly equal, the lower 1- or indistinctly 3-ncrv('d, often obtuse, awn- 

 less, but sometimes terminated by a very short point or seta. Scales 2, small. 

 Stamens 3. Ovary oblong: stigmas with simple hairs. Grain oblong or cylin- 

 drical. 



Perennials ami annuals, with mostly wiry culms and involute leaves, the sheaths of which are 

 soinetimes fringed at the throat. The species are widely distributed ; three or four occur in the 

 Atlantic States. See note to Sporobolus. 



1. V. depauperata, Ton-. Culms tufted, very slender, 3 inches to 2 feet long, 

 decunibent and geniculate, often much branched : leaves from 3 to 12 lines long, 

 often involute, very minutely scalirous on tlie upper surface ; ligule elongatcil, acute"; 

 sheaths i-ather loose, crowded and overlapping below : panicle h to 2 inches long' 

 very narrow, of few solitary distant erect rays, which are branched'and flower-beariiig 

 nearly to the base : sjiikelets a line long or less, short-pedioellod : glumes ovate" 

 obtuse, nearly equal : floret about twice the length of the glumes, often blackish, 

 deciduous : palets nearly e(pial, the lower obscurely 3-nerve(I, the midnerve often 

 terminating as a minute mucro. — Hook. Flor. Bor.-Am. ii. 257, t. 23G ; Watson, 

 Pot. King Exp. 376. V. vtilis, Torr. in Pacif P. Pep. v. 3G5. 



High Sierras (rireiccr); Yosemite Valley [Bolnndrr) ; Tejon Pass (Blah); Hermit Valley, 

 Hooker and Grny, and other mountain localities by Lcmmmi and others. l\nnging fiom Oregon 

 {Hall) to Colorado and the Saskatchewan, and southward to Northern Mexico and Western 



