312 GllAMINE.E. I'oa. 



§ 2. Jiout perennial : Jluwevs jivrfcct. 



* Low ntnuntahi or alpine species, erect in perennial tuffs. 



-»- Soft and Jiaccitl, sinoot/i or nearly so; leaves short and flat, short 2^'^ifilo<l ; 

 liijule elongated. 



2. P. alpina, Linn. Culms G to 18 inches liigli, rather stout: leaves hroadly 

 linear, li to li inches long, the upper very short, niucronate : i)aniclo ()l)long or 

 pyramidal, 1 to 3 inches bmad ; spikelets broadly ovate, 3 - 'J-llowered, 2 or 3 lines 

 lung : glumes ovate, acute : lower palet very hairy below, especially on the mid- and 

 marginal nerves. — lleichenb. Icon. Fl. Germ. t. 15G ; Gray, Man. G2U ; Watson, 

 I3ot. King Exp. 38G. 



This aud the two t'uUowing species, thongli not occuning in any of the collections made witiiiu 

 the State, are fre(iuent in tlie nionntain ranges at the north and east, ami are very iil<ely to he nu't 

 with. It })resenls a great variety of forms, and when unexpanded ajijiears very dili'erent from the 

 fully developed i)hint. 



+- -1— Leaves narrowlij linear or setaceous. 



3. P. laxa, Ilaenke. Culms 3 to 10 inches high, very slender, somewhat com- 

 pressed : leaves narrowly linear, obliquely mucronate : panicle 1 to 3 inches long, 

 narrow, lax, one-sided and often nodding, its branches solitary or in pairs ; spikelets 

 2 - 4-tlowered, 2 lines long, or less : glumes acuminate-pointed : llorets hairy on the 

 keels and margins. — lleichenb. Icon. Fl. Germ. t. 157. 



In the Rocky Mountains {I'urri/, Bounjaiu) ; eastward to the nioiuitainsof New York and New 

 England. 



4. P. abbreviata, K. r)r. Culms from slender creeping rootstocks, 3 to G inches 

 high: leaves convolute, filiform-setaceous, those of the copious radical tufts mostly 

 reaching the panicle, the culmdeaves about an inch long, smooth or linely puberu- 

 lent near the apex. ; ligule oblong, entire; sheaths very loose : panicle about an inch 

 long, its very simple 1 - 2-llowered branches in pairs, nearly smooth ; spikelets 

 2 to 2i- lines long, 3 -5-tlowered : glumes about half as long as the llorets, acute, 

 rough on the keel ; llorets rather distant : lower palet U- lines long, strongly keeled, 

 with the other nerves conspicuous, rough-pubescent all over except the broad-scarious 

 margins, more or less woolly at base. — App. to Parry's 1st Voy. 187 ; Steuil. Syn. 

 Gram. 253. 



AVashington Teirilory {Picker ia<j) ; .\rrtie .Vnu'iiea. 

 * * Tall perennials (1 to 3 feet) vnth open oblong or pyramidal panicles, the 

 rather short and rough branches mostly in floes : florets acute, more or less 

 webbed at base. Meadow grasses introduced by cultivation or {except n. G) 

 indigenous. 



-I- Culms with run)ting rootstochs, and emitting stolons from the base. 



5. P. pratensis, Linn. Culm and sheaths smooth ; leaves dark green, the radi- 

 cal very long, those of the culm short, scabrous on the margins ; ligule short and 

 blunt: panicle pyramidal; spikelets 3 -S-Howered, somewhat crowded and almost 

 sessile : glumes acuminate, scabrous on the keel : lower palet distinctly r)-nervcd, 

 silky-hairy on the margins aud keel and widjlxid at base. — L'eichenl). Icon. Fl. 

 Germ. t. IGl. 



Near San Franciseo (Bohnuler) ; northward to Oifgon and Washington Territory and indi- 

 genous in tlie mountainous districts eastward to New iCngland. Tins, known as "Juno Grass," 

 "Green Meadow Grains," "Spear Grass," and "Kentucky IJiue (irass," in various parts of the 

 country, is one of tiie most liigldy valued jjasture and meadow grasses. Tlie limestone soils ot 

 Kentucky heing esi)eeially favorahie to its devedopment, tiie "Kentucky I51ue Grass" was for a 

 long time supposed to he a distinet si)eeies, until it was found that seed from the celehratcd " Bine- 

 grass " pastures of that State when sown elsewhere produeeil only "June-grass." In Ori'gon this 

 is regarded as one of the most trouMesome weeds in eidtivated fi.dds, its rapi.l proiiagalidu l.y 

 means of rootstocks and stolons, so useful when the grass is cultivated, making it very dillienll to 



