270 (iRA.MlNE.E. Poltjpoijon. 



at its obtuse tii). — IVZ/c/ asper/fulia, Xees i^ Meycn iu Tiiii. Agrost. i. 73 ; Steiul. 

 Syn. Gram. IGO; Watson, 1. c. 375. ^Sjiuruboliis [Vilj'a) arenactas, ]>uckl. in Proc. 

 Acad. Phihul. 18G2, 81). 



Mono Lake (Bulanikr), and IVfciuent in alkaline soils tlirougli northern Nevada to Oregon 

 (Nuttall), eastward to Keliraska, and southward to Texas and ilexico ; also Chilian. While the 

 Californian specimens appear as it the species was an annual, those troni the llocky Mountains 

 have the root ol'a jierennial ; the leaves are j)ale green, sometimes erect, much crowded and rather 

 rigid, but none are sullicicntly rough to make the specilic. name descriptive. Specimens were 

 collected in Colorado by irolf in which the ovary was ergotized and the sjiikelets 2- and 3-tlowered, 

 an abnormal state which might be ascribed to a diseased condition did not specimens api)arently 

 l>erfectly healthy, collected by Dr. Torrey in Nevada, have almost uniformly two florets in the 

 spikelet, giving the plant much the appearance of an Enujrostis. 



17. POLYPOGON, Dcsf. Hkakd-Gkass. 

 Panicle dense and spike-like or somewhat branched or li>bed. Spikelets l-flo\v- 

 ered, very small, rarely exceeding a line in length. Glumes nearly equal, com- 

 pressed, 1-nerved and bearing a long awn at or below the apex. Floret much shorter 

 than the glumes, without manifest callus, and naked at base. Lower palet hyaline, 

 broad, 1-nerved (or obscurely 5-nerved), truncate, toothed, awned at tlie apex. 

 Scales 2, falcate, entire, as long as the ovary. Stamens 3 ; anthers small. Styles 

 short, with long feathery stigmas. 



A genus of about a dozen mostly annual and widely distributed species, especially iu warm 

 countries, usually growing upon the sca&hoie ami in sandy waste places. It is closely allied lo 

 Agroslis, from which it is distinguished by its conspicuously awned glumes. Of no known eco- 

 nomical value. 



1. P. Monspeliensis, Desf. (Annual IjEaud-Grass.) Culms G inches to 2| 

 feet high, procundjeiit and geniculate at base, rarely erect, often branching from the 

 lower nodes : leaves broad. Hat, somewhat scabnjus ; sheatlis smooth ; ligule 2 or 3 

 lines long, obtuse : panicle 2 to G inches long, cylindrical or somewliat interrupted, 

 yellowish, dense and soft: spikelets about a line long : glumes notched at the apex 

 and emitting an awn two or three times their length : lower palet with an awn 

 equalling or slightly exceeding the glumes. — Keicheidj. Icon. PI. (ierm. i. 15, t. 91 ; 

 Doell, PI. Bras. fasc. Ixxix. 44, t. 12. 



From Oregon to San Diego County, chiefly in the mountains, not rare ; also in Northern Nevada 

 and Southern Utah, and on the Atlantic, cdast. It occurs neaily throughout Eiuope, also in Asia 

 and Africa. On account of the light color of its dense panicle it is a rather conspicuous grass. 



2. P. littoralis, Smitli. Culms from a jierennial root, forming large tufts, 1 to 2 

 feet long or nmn; : leaves rather narrnw, scabrous on both sides ; ligtde 1 to 3 lines 

 long, acute : panicle narrow, nnich lobetl its whole length and sometimes com])letely 

 interrupted below, usually puri)lish : glumes more or less pubescent and distinctly 

 aculeate on the keel, tapering into an awn of about their own length : awn of lower 

 ])alet slightly exserted beyond the glumes.— Peichenb. 1. c, t. 1)2 (n. 172). F. 

 fugax, Poland. Cat. 3-1. 



Wet places, San Francisco and Oaklaml (Bolandcr, Lcmmon) ; Oregon, Howell. Coasts of 

 western Europe ami the Mediterranean ; South America. This was at first referred to P. /wjax, 

 Nees (which Trinius places as a variety of the jireceding), and is so given in Bolander's Catalogue. 

 It is readily distinguished from the other by its narrower, often inteiruptcd jianicle, which on 

 account of "its shorter awns feels much har.sher, also by its fre(pient imrplish tinge or, when that 

 is not present, by the darker green color of the iianiclc. Mr. iJulaudcr regarded it as an annual. 

 but the specimens aie all without roots. 



18. AGROSTIS, Linn. Uknt-Okass. 

 Panicle open and spreading, sometintes contracted anil narrow, the rays whorled, 

 often in clusters of several. Spikelets small (i t(j 2 lines long), 1-llowered or (rarely) 



