122 



GRAMINEAE. 



Panicum angustifolium Ell. Narrow-leaved Panicum. (Fig. 269.) 



Panicum angustifolium Ell. Hot S. C. & Ga. i: 129. 1817. 

 Panicum consanguineum S. Wats, in A. Gray, Man. Ed. 

 6, 633, in part. 1890. Not Kunth, 1835. 



Culms erect, i-2 tall, glabrous, at first simple, 

 later profusely branched above. Sheaths glabrous or 

 the basal ones pubescent, those on the culm shorter 

 than the internodes, those on the branches crowded ; 

 leaves elongated, i // -3 // wide, narrowed to the base, 

 firm, glabrous, those of the culm distant, those of the 

 branches shorter and crowded ; primary panicle long- 

 exserted, 1'-$' long, its branches ascending or erect ; 

 lateral panicles smaller, shorter than the leaves ; 

 spikelets few, about i%" long, elliptic to obovoid; 

 first scale one-fourth to one-third as long as the spike- 

 let; second and third oval, g-nerved, pubescent; fourth 

 oval, minutely pubescent at the apex. 



Dry soil, North Carolina to Missouri, south to Florida 

 and Texas. June-Aug. 



28. Panicum virgatum L,. Tall Smooth Panicum. (Fig. 270.) 



Panicum inrgalnm I,. Sp. PI. 59. 1753. 



Culms erect from a creeping rootstock, 3-5 tall, 

 glabrous. Sheaths smooth and glabrous ; leaves elon- 

 gated, i or more long, 3 // -6" wide, flat, long-acumin- 

 ate, narrowed toward the base, glabrous, rough on 

 the margins ; panicle ^-ao 7 long, the lower brauches 

 4'-ic/ long, more or less widely spreading or sometimes 

 nearly erect ; spikelets ovate, acuminate, 2 // -2# // 

 long ; first scale acuminate, about one-half as long as 

 the spikelet, 3~5-nerved ; second scale generally 

 longer than the others, s-y-nerved, the third similar 

 and usually subtending a palet and staminate flower ; 

 fourth scale shining, shorter than the others. 



In moist or dry soil, Maine and Ontario to Minnesota, 

 south to Florida. Kansas and Texas. Aug.-Sept 



29. Panicum amarum Ell. Sea-beach Panicum. (Fig. 271.) 



Panicum amarum Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. i: 121. 1817. 



Smooth and glabrous, glaucous, culms arising from 

 long branching rootstocks, i-3 tall, decumbent 

 Sheaths overlapping ; leaves 6'-! long, $"-6" wide, 

 long-acuminate, thick and leathery, involute on the 

 margins, at least toward the apex, the uppermost leaf 

 generally exceeding the panicle; panicle linear, less 

 than i long, its branches erect; spikelets 2^ // -3 // 

 long; first, second and third scales acuminate, the first 

 one-half to two-thirds as long as the spikelet, the third 

 somewhat longer than the second, usually with a palet 

 and staminate flower, the fourth elliptic, about i^' 



On sea beaches, Connecticut to Florida. Sept.-Nov. 



