ORDER 15G. GRAMINE^E. 773 



1. LEER'SIA, Soland. OUT GRASS. FALSE RICE. (In honor of 

 John Daniel Leers, a German botanist.) Spikelcts 1 -flowered, , flat; 

 glumes none ; paleac boat-shaped, compressed, awnless, bristly-ciliate on 

 the keel, nearly equal in length but the lower much broader, enclosing 

 the free, flat grain (caryopsis). 2 Swamp grasses, with flat, retro rsely 

 rough-edged leaves, and the fls. racemous-paniculate, somewhat secund, 

 jointed to the pedicels. 



1 D. oryzoides Swartz CUT GRASS. Culm retrorsely scabrous, 3 5fhigh; Ivs. 

 lanceolate, carinate, the margin very rough backwards; sheaths also very rough with 

 retrorse prickles; panicle much branched, diffuse, sheathed at the base; spikelets 

 spreading; palece full 2" long, dilate on the heel, white, compressed and closed ; sta. 

 3. 2 A very rough grass, common in swamps, by streams, etc., TJ. S. and Can. 

 Aug. 



2 L. Virginica "Willd. WHITE GRASS. Culm slender, branched, geniculate or 

 decumbent at base, 2 3f long, nodes retrorsely hairy ; Ivs. lance-linear, roughish ; 

 sheaths roughish backwards, striate ; panicle simple, at Iqngth much exserted, the 

 lower branches diffuse; fls. pedicellate, in short, appressed, flexuous racemes; 

 lower paka scarcely more than 1" long, green-reined, mucronate; sta. 1 2. 2{ 

 Damp woods, U. S. and Can. Aug. 



3 L. lenticularis Michx. CATCH-FLY GRASS. Plant smoothish; culm erect, 

 2 if high ; panicle erect; fls. large, roundish-oval near 3" diam., imbricated- 

 sta. 2 ; pales with the keel and veins ciliate. 11 Wet places, Ct. (Eaton) to 111. 

 and S. States. Xot common. Said to catch flies by the sudden closing of its 

 pales. 



2. ORY'ZA, L. RICE. (Gr. opv^a, from the Arabic, Eruz.} Spike- 

 lets 1 -flowered, ; glumes 2, very small, cuspidate; pales 2, boat- 

 shaped, flattened, the lower one broader and mostly tipped with a 

 straight awn ; stam. 6 ; stigmas with branching hairs ; grain oblong, 

 free, smooth, enveloped in the pales. Mostly (JX Fls. in a branching 

 panicle of racemes, Spikes hispid, jointed to the pedicel. 



O. sativa L. Culm 2 4f high, striato ; Ivs. long, rough, lance-linear ; ligulo 

 long (near 1'), erect, pointed; panicle with erect branches, 6 9' in length; outer 

 pale strongly 5-veined or keeled, hispid-ciliate and commonly tipped with a short 

 awn. Extensively cultivated in the S. States, both hi upland meadows and hi 

 low inundated grounds. The former variety the upland rice*, is usually awnless, 

 the latter is awned. ^L most important Cereal, f Asia. 



3. ZIZA'NIA, Gron. INDIAN RICE. Zi^dViov, the Greek name of 



some similar plant.) 8 Glumes 0; spikelets 1 -flowered ; palese 2, 

 herbaceous: Palese subequal, awnless ; stamens 6. $ Spikelets 

 subulate ; paleie unequal, linear, lower one with a straight awn ; styles 

 2 ; caryopsis enveloped in the- plicate paleac. Stout, aquatic grasses, 

 with a large panicle of both kinds of flowers. 



1 Z. aqucitica L. Culm ' m diameter, fistular, smooth, 6f high ; Ivs. lance- 

 linear, 2 3f long, an inch wide, smooth, serrulate ; panicle a foot or more long, 

 pyramidal, the loicer branches divaricate and stcrik, the upper spicate and fertile ; 

 spikelets on clavate pedicels ; awns long (18"), hispid ; fr. slender, f long, black- 

 ish, very caducous, farinaceous. % Inundated shores of ponds and rivers, U. S. 

 and Can. The fruit, which is very abundant, affords sustenance to wild geese, 

 ducks, and other water fowls. Aug. 



2 Z. miliacea Michx. Culm erect, G 1 Of high; Ivs. very long, narrow, glau- 

 cous; panicle large, diffuse, pyramidal; glumes with short (1 3") Awns; $ and 

 $ fa. intermixed; sty. 1; fr. ovate, glabrous. U Growing in water, Ohio to 

 Fla. and La, Lvs. coriaceous, 2 3f long, 6 12' wide. Apr. Aug. 



3 Z. ? flditans Michx. Culm long, slender, branching, floating in the water ; 



