106 FLORA, 



8. Sporobolus Virginicus (L.) Kunth. SEASHORE RUSH-GRASS. (I. F. f. 

 348.) Culms 1.5-6 dm. tall, erect or sometimes decumbent, from a stout rootstock. 

 Sheaths numerous, short, overlapping and crowded at the lower part of the culm, 

 smooth, glabrous or sometimes pilose on the margins and at the throat; leaves 2.5- 

 20 cm. long, 4 mm. wide or less at the base, distichous, acuminate into a long point, 

 involute on the margins and at the apex, smooth beneath, scabrous above or some- 

 times sparingly hairy; panicle 2.5-7.5 cm. long, 4-10 mm. thick, dense and spike- 

 like, usually exserted; spikelets 2-2.5 mm - lon g> tne outer scales about equal, acute, 

 smooth and glabrous; third scale smooth and glabrous, acute, slightly shorter than 

 the second and about equalling the obtuse palet. On sandy shores, Va. to Fla., 

 west to Tex. and Mex., Also in Cuba. Aug.-Sept. 



9 Sporobolus Indicus (L. ) R. Br. INDIA RUSH-GRASS. SMUT-GRASS. 

 (I. F f. 349.) Glabrous and smooth throughout. Culms 3-12 dm. tall, erect, 

 tufted ; leaves 2-6 mm. wide, attenuate into a long slender point, the lower 

 2-3 dm. long, the upper shorter; panicle 1-4 dm. in length, usually elongated, 

 narrow, spike-like; spikelets 1.5-2 mm. long, the outer scales unequal, about 

 half as long as the third, obtuse, smooth and glabrous, the lower one shorter, 

 and often erose-truncate; third scale acute, somewhat exceeding the obtuse or 

 acutish palet. In meadows and waste places, Va. to Fla , west to Ark. and Cal. 

 Naturalized from tropical regions; very abundant in Cent, and S. Am. July-Sept. 



10. Sporobolus argutus (Nees) Kunth. POINTED DROPSEED-GRASS. (I. F. 

 f. 350.) Culms 3 dm. tall or less, erect, or somewhat decumbent at the base. 

 Sheaths shorter than the internodes, their margins sometimes hirsute at the top; 

 leaves 2. 5-5 cm. long, 2-4 mm. wide at the base, acuminate, smooth and glabrous be- 

 neath, scabrous, and often sparingly hairy at the base above; panicle 3.75-7.5 

 cm. in length, the branches 1.25-2.5 cm. long, verticillate, at first appressed, 

 finally widely spreading; spikelets 1.5 mm. long; outer scales smooth and glab- 

 rous, the first rounded or obtuse, one-quarter the length of the acute second one; 

 third scale about equalling the second, acute. Kans., the Ind. Terr, and Colo., 

 south to Tex. and Mex. Also in the West Indies. July-Sept. 



11. Sporobolus gracilis (Trin.) Merr. PURPLE DROPSEED-GRASS. WIRE- 

 GRASS. (I. F. f. 351.) Glabrous and smooth throughout. Culms 3-6 dm. tall, 

 tufted, erect, slender, simple; leaves filiform or setaceous, the basal 1.5-3 dm. 

 long, numerous, those of the culm few, 2.5-7.5 cm. long; panicle 7.5-17.5 cm. in 

 length, open, the branches verticillate, the lower 2. 5-5 cm. long, widely spreading; 

 spikelets 2.5-3 mm - l n g> purple, the outer scales very unequal, the first obtuse or 

 acutish, one-fourth to one-third the length of the acute second one; third scale sub- 

 acute or blunt, equalling the second and the obtuse palet. Dry sandy soil, Va. to 

 Fla., west to Tex. Aug.-Sept. {Sporobolus junceus (Mx.) Kth. ; not Agrostis juncea 

 Lam.; S. ejuncidus Nash.) 



12. Sporobolus airoides Torr. HAIR GRASS DROPSEED. (I. F. f. 352.) 

 Culms 4.5-9 dm. tall, erect, simple. Leaves smooth beneath, scabrous above and 

 sometimes sparingly hairy near the base, 1-3 mm. wide at the base, attenuate into 

 a long slender involute point, the basal about one-half as long as the culm, the 

 upper culm leaves 5-12.5 cm. in length; panicle 1.25-4 dm. long, usually exserted, 

 the branches alternate or the upper verticillate, at length widely spreading, the 

 lower 7 5-17.5 cm. long; spikelets 1.5-2 mm. long, the scales acute, glabrous, the 

 outer unequal, the lower one about half as long as the upper; third scale equalling 

 the second and the palet. Prairies, Neb. to Cal., south to Tex. and Ariz. Aug.- 

 Sept. 



13. Sporobolus cryptandrus (Torr.) A. Gray. SAND DROPSEED. (I. F. f. 

 353.) Culms 4.5-10.5 dm. tall, erect. Sheaths with a dense pilose ring at the 

 summit, the lower short, crowded and overlapping, the upper much longer, gen- 

 erally enclosing the base of the panicle; leaves 7.5-15 cm. long, 2-4 mm. wide, flat, 

 glabrous beneath, scabrous above, long-acuminate; panicle 1.5-2.5 dm. in length, 

 the branches spreading or ascending, alternate, the lower 3.75-7.5 cm. long; spike- 

 lets 2-2.5 mm - l n g> tne scales acute, glabrous, the outer scabrous on the keel, the 

 lower one-third as long as the upper; third scale somewhat longer or shorter than 

 the second. In sandy soil, coast of N. E., along all the Great Lakes, west to 

 Dak., south in the interior to Mo., Tex. and Mex. Aug.-Oct. 



14. Sporobolus heterolepis A. Gray. NORTHERN DROPSEED. (I. F. f. 354.) 



