GRAMINE^E. (GRASS FAMILY.) 541 



2. A* GENicuiATUs, L. (FLOATING FOXTAIL.) Culm ascending, bent 

 at thi lower joints ; palea rather shorter than the obtuse glumes, the awn from near 

 its base aid projecting half its length beyond it: anthers linear; upper leaf as long 

 as its sheath. \ Moist meadows : rare. July, Aug. (Nat. from Eu.) 



3. A. arts til hi til*, Michx. (WILD WATER-FOXTAIL.) Glaucous; 

 culm decumbent below, at length bent and ascending ; palea rather longer than 

 the obtuse glumes, scarcely exceeded by the awn which rises from just below its mid- 

 dle ; anthers oblong, ty (A. subaristatus, Pers.) In water and wet meadows ; 

 common, especially northward. June August. Spike more slender and paler 

 than in the last. (Eu.) 



4. PHLEUia, L. CAT'S-TAIL GRASS. 



Palese both present, shorter than the mucronate or awned glumes ; the lower 

 one truncate, usually awnless. Styles distinct. Otherwise much as in Alope- 

 curus. Spike very dense, harsh. (An ancient Greek name, probably of the 

 Cat-tail.) 



1. P. PRATENSE, L. (TIMOTHY. HERD'S-GRASS in New England and 

 New York.) Spike cylindrical, elongated; glumes ciliate on the back, tipped 

 with a bristle less than half their length. 1J. Meadows, &c. ; very valuable for 

 hay. (Nat. from Eu.) 



2. P. alpiiiuiii, L. Spike ovate-oblong; glumes strongly ciliate-fringed 

 on the back, tipped with a rough awn-like bristle about their own length, ty 

 Alpine tops of the White Mountains, New Hampshire, and high northward. 

 (Eu.) 



5. VII^FA, Adans., Beauv. RUSH-GRASS 



Spikelets 1-flowered, in a contracted or spiked panicle. Glumes 1-nerved or 

 nerveless, not awned or pointed, the lower smaller. Flower nearly sessile in the 

 glumes. Palea? 2, much alike, of the same texture as the glumes (membrana- 

 ceo-chartaceous) and usually longer than they, j.^ked, neither awned nor mu- 

 cronate; the lower 1-nerved (rarely somewhat 3-nerved). Stamens chiefly 3. 

 Stigmas simply feathery. Grain (caryopsis) oblong or cylindrical, deciduous. 

 Culms wiry, or rigid. Leaves involute, usually bearded at the throat ; their 

 sheaths often enclosing the lateral panicle. (Name unexplained.) 



1. V. aspera, Beauv. Root perennial ; culms tufted (2 -4 high); low- 

 est leaves very long, rigid, rough on the edges, tapering to a long involute and 

 thread-like point; the upper short, involute ; sheaths partly enclosing the con- 

 tracted panicle ; palece much longer than the unequal glumes ; grain oval or oblong. 

 (Agrostis aspera, Michx. A. clandestina & A. involuta, Mufti. A. longifolia, 

 Torr.) Sandy fields and dry hills ; not rare, especially southward. Sept. 

 Spikelets 2" -3" long. Paleae rough above, smooth or hairy below, of greatly 

 varying proportions ; the upper one tapering upwards, acute, and one half to 

 twice longer than the lower, or else obtuse and equalled, or even considerably 

 exceeded, by the lower ! 



2. V. vasjiiiH'flora, Torr. Root annual; culms slender (6 -12' high), 

 ascending ; leaves involute-awl-shaped (!' - 4' long) ; panicles simple and spiked* 



46 



