Illustrated Descriptions of the Grasses 



about Lexington, that "city of the Blue-g 

 more eastern states the slender stems are 

 are those of any other grass of early 

 summer, and the profusion of dark green 

 leaves, together with the habit of spread- 

 ing by sending off numerous running 

 rootstocks, renders it an ideal turf-form- 

 ing grass. June Grass, as this species is 

 often called, is really a more appropriate 

 name than Blue-grass, as the plants lack 

 the deep blue-green colour which char- 

 acterizes Canada Blue-grass, the true 

 "blue-grass" of the genus. The blos- 

 soming head, in varying shades of green, 

 lavender, and purple, is in form a perfect 

 pyramid, and as the flowers bloom in 

 June, before the summer grasses, the 

 plants should be easily recognized. In 

 dry or sandy soil the grass is small and 

 harsh, but in richer grounds the stems 

 are from two to four feet tall, and later 

 in the season, when the green has faded, 

 they stand like threads of shining gold 

 by every wayside. 



Rough-stalked Meadow-grass {Pda 

 trivialis) resembles Kentucky Blue-grass, 

 but is less common, and may be distin- 

 guished b\' its long ligule and rough 

 sheaths. It is usually more slender than 

 the preceding species, and it does not 

 spread b\' rootstocks. 



Wood Spear-grass {Pda alsodes), a 

 slender grass of wooded hillsides, blooms 

 in May and June and shows narrow, 

 rather loose panicles of small green spike- 

 lets. The sheaths are longer than the 

 internodes, and the upper sheath fre- 

 quently encloses the base of the panicle. 



In early spring the leafy shoots of 

 Canada Blue-grass {Pda conipressa), the 



197 



rass," but even in the 

 seen as frequently as 



>w^ /^ 





Poa prateiiiis 



