188 



GRAMINEAE. 



i. Eragrostis capillaris (L.) Nees. Capillary Eragrostis. (Fig. 428.) 



Poa capillaris L,. Sp. PI. 68. 1753. 



Poa tenuis Ell. Bot. S. C. & Ga. i: 156. 1817. 



Eragrostis capillaris Nees, Agrost. Bras. 505. 



1829. 



Culms S'-iS' tall, erect, slender, sparingly 

 branched at the base, smooth and glabrous. 

 Sheaths short, overlapping and crowded at the base 

 of the culm, glabrous or sparingly hairy, the upper 

 enclosing the base of the panicle; ligule a ring of 

 very short hairs; leaves s'-io' long, i // -2 // wide, 

 long-acuminate, smooth beneath, scabrous above 

 and sparingly hirsute near the base; panicle diffuse, 

 4 / -i5 / in length, the branches capillary, spreading 

 or ascending, i^ / ~5 / long; spikelets ovate, 2-4- 

 flowered, little flattened, i"-!^" long; empty 

 scales about equal, acute; flowering scales acute, 

 the lower %" long, the lateral nerves obscure. 



In dry places, Rhode Island to New York and Mis- 

 souri, south to Georgia and Texas. Aug.-Sept. 



2. Eragrostis Frankii Steud. Frank's Era- 

 grostis. (Fig. 429.) 



Eragrostis Frankii Steud. Syn. PI. Gram. 273. 1855. 

 Eragrostis erythrogona Nees; Steud. Syn. PI. Gram. 273. 

 1855- 



Glabrous, culms 6 / -i5 / tall, tufted, erect, or often 

 decumbent at the base, branched, smooth. Sheaths 

 loose, shorter than the internodes; ligule a ring of 

 hairs; leaves 2 / ~5 / long, i // -2 / '' wide, smooth beneath, 

 scabrous above; panicle 2 / -6 / in length, open, the 

 branches ascending, the lower I'-i^' long; spikelets 

 ovate. 3-5-flowered, i"-i j" long; empty scales acute, 

 the first shorter than the second; flowering scales 

 acute, the lower } f/ long, the lateral nerves obscure. 



In moist places, southeastern New York and northern 

 New Jersey to Minnesota, south to Mississippi, Louisiana 

 and Kansas. Sept. -Oct. 



3. Eragrostis pilosa (L,.) Beauv. Tufted Eragrostis. (Fig. 430.) 



Poa pilosa L- Sp. PI. 68. 1753. 



Poa Caroliniana Spreng. Mant. Fl. Hal. 33. 1807? 



Eragrostis pilosa Beauv. Agrost. 162. 1812. 



Culms 6 / -i8 / tall, tufted, erect, slender, branched, 

 smooth and glabrous. Sheaths shorter than the in- 

 ternodes, smooth, sometimes pilose at the throat; lig- 

 ule a ring of short hairs; leaves I'-s' long, i" wide 

 or less, smooth beneath, scabrous above; panicle 

 2 / -6 / in length, the branches at first erect, finally 

 widely spreading, I'-i^' long, often hairy in the 

 axils; spikelets 5-i2-flowered, i> // -3 // long, about 

 W wide; lower scales acute, the first one-half as long 

 as the second; flowering scales acute, the lower % rf 

 long, thin, usually purplish, the lateral nerves faint 

 or wanting. 



Waste places or cultivated ground, southern New Eng- 

 land to Illinois and Kansas, south to Florida and Tt 

 Naturalized from Europe. Aug.-Sept. 





