Kcdcria. GRAMINEyE. 301 



so, aiul iisiiivlly excuireiit as brief awns or points, tlie central one {lit;tinctly exsorted. 

 Upper palet mucli shorter, 2-toothctl and ciliatc-inarj;inc(l. Stamens '^. Scales 2, 

 truncate or cmarginato. Stigmas elongated, plumose, (irain oblong, smooth, free. 



A genus of wliich there are 4 or 5 species in the Eastern States, and a iniuh hnger numher helong 

 to the flora of Texas ami Mexieo. 'J"he species arc in nnicii conrusion, and liavc lieen placed under 

 Uralcpin, IVindsoria, Triplasis, TrichodUt, and otlier genera. 



1. T. pulchella, Torr. Low tufted annual or biennial, the crowded wiry culms 

 2 to 6 inches high, fasciculately branched above : leaves setaceously convolute, cus- 

 ]iidate, rigid, scabrous ; sheaths short, open, striate, with Avide scarious margins and 

 villous at the nodes ; ligule a ciliate fringe ; radical leaves crowded, an inch long, the 

 upper less tlian half as long, some reduced to 2 or 3 lines in length and appearing 

 like large awned glumes : i)anicle of about 3 spikelets, 4 or 5 lines long and G - 7- 

 iloweretl : glumes white, acuminate or subulate-pointed, In'oad, the upper slightly 

 exceeding the lower and the llorets : lower palet about 2 lines long, wiiite, densely 

 silky-villous to near the middle, deeply bitid, with a strong awn slightly exceeding 

 the obtuse lobes : lobes unequally divided by the light green scarcely excurrent lat- 

 eral nerves, which are somewhat villous above. — Pacif. Jv. Hep. iv. 156. Triodia 

 pulchella, lIBlv. Nov. Gen. i. 155, t. 47. Uralepis pulchella, Kunth, Enuiu. i. 318, 

 and Suppl. 274. 



Fort Moliave {Cooprr) ; on tlic Colorado at various places, Nr.whcrry. Very common in Arizona 

 nnd N'orthern Mexico, covering large patidies of the most sterile groun<l, and extending eastward 

 to Utah, New ilexico and Western Texas. 



42. DACTYLIS, Linn. Orciiakd Gkass. 



Panicle sometimes dense, usually branched and one-sided, bearing thick crowded 

 onesided clusters at the ends of its short branches. Spikelets 3 - many-flowered, 

 the uppermost imperfect. Glumes herbaceous, the lower smaller and 1-nerved, the 

 npper 3-nerved. Lower palet keeled, its 5 nerves converging to an awn-like point. 

 Stamens 3. Scales 2, Avith an acute marginal tooth. Styles short, with plumose 

 stigmas. Grain lance-oblong, free. 



A genus of few species, or perhaps onlj' a single one. 



1. D. glomerata, Linn. Perennial, the culms forming at length large dense 

 tufts 2 to 3 feet high, with broadly linear rough and somewhat glaucous leaves and 

 scabrous sheaths : panicle 1 to G inches long, sometimes purplish, its branches hori- 

 zontal in flower, erect in fruit : spikelets about 3 lines long, the glumes and lower 

 palet ciliate on the keel. — Reichenb. Icon. Flor. Germ. t. 147; Necs, Gen. t. G5. 



Fields, etc., Bolnndrr ; introduced. As Orchard-Grass in this country and Cocksfoot-Grass in 

 England, this is highly valued as a meadow grass, and its cultivation is increasing. A native of 

 the Old World. 



43. KCELERIA, Pers. 



Panicle dense and spike-like, cylindrical, often interrupted below. Spikelets 

 compressed, 3- 7-flo\vered. Glumes membranaceous, the upper longer and 3-5- 

 nerved, nearly equalling the florets. Lower palet membranaceous, keeled, 3-nerved, 

 acutish, sometimes mucronate or bristle-pointed. Upper palet bitid or 2-toothed. 

 Stamens 3. Scales 2, obliquely truncate. Styles short, with broadly plumose stig- 

 mas. Grain plano-convex, free. 



A small genus, the numher of species heing estimated at 8 or 10,-tiiough over 30 have been 

 described ; mostly natives of temperate regions. 



L K. cristata, Pors. Perennial, with slender culms 1 to 2 feet high or more 

 from a dense tuft of radical leaves, which with those of the culm arc mostly couvo- 



