22 BULLETIN 545, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



A species of the same common name, closely resembling Melica 

 bella and nearly as widely distributed and as important economically 

 in the region studied, is Melica spectabilis. In habit of growth and 

 general appearance the plants are very similar, both being bulbif erous 

 and growing to practically the same height. In contrast with the 

 rather dull spikelets of M. bella, however, those of M. spectabilis 

 are bright in appearance and the glumes are membranaceous ; the 

 pedicels of the former are stiff and erect, whereas those of the latter 

 are slender and flexuous. The period of flower-stalk production 

 and seed maturity is virtually the same as in the case of M. bella, 

 and the viability of the seed crop is also very low. 



LITTLE BLUEGRASS. 

 (Poa sandbergii.) 



The genus Poa is composed of about 150 species widely distributed 

 in temperate and cold regions. In the western United States about 

 75 species have been reported. The value of the bluegrasses for 

 hay and forage is well known. Cultivated Kentucky bluegrass is 

 closely related to little bluegrass. 



Little bluegrass is distinctly' a plant of the Transition zone, though 

 through its ability to adjust itself to more or less adverse conditions 

 it succeeds remarkably well on upland ranges and furnishes an 

 abundance of forage. While at higher elevations it often grows 

 luxuriantly in rich clay loam soils, usually it inhabits inferior shallow 

 soils. On typical scablands and rocky areas it is the most common 

 and characteristic species. Owing primarily to its ability to with- 

 stand drought and wide variation in temperature, the range of dis- 

 tribution of little bluegrass in the region studied is unusually 

 broad. It grows profusely in the lower limits of the Transition 

 zone, about 2,000 feet, and is also common on ranges of 8,000 feet 

 elevation. On such situations it is almost invariably confined to 

 scablands and poorly disintegrated soils on the warmer south and 

 west exposures. In the tests made to determine its drought resis- 

 tance, little bluegrass did not show signs of complete wilting until 

 the soil water was reduced to between 6.5 and 7.8 per cent. 



Little bluegrass is a perennial (Plate XVII) and grows in tussocks 

 not usually exceeding 8 inches in diameter. It has coarse, deeply 

 penetrating roots, which withstand trampling remarkably well; 

 smooth culms, slightly decumbent at the base, 1 J to 2 feet in height; 

 close erect panicles composed of spikelets of 3 to 5 florets; and a 

 superabundance of narrow, short, and rather flat, or sometimes 

 slightly folded, blue-green basal leaves. 



The flower stalks of little blue grass are among the earliest to appear 

 on the range. This is due, first, to the character of the situations in 



