ORDER 156. GRAMINE^E. 803 



joints ; from, creeping rhizomes, 1 to 2f ; Ivs. lance-linear, rough above and some- 

 what hairy ; stip. short truncate ; spike compressed, about 3' in length ; spikelets 

 remote, alternate, lance-oblong, 5 6-flowered ; awns short or none ; glumes 

 lanceolate, 5-veiued, acuminate. If A vile weed, in lieldsand gardens, extremely 

 difficult to eradicate. June Aug. 



/?. DASYSTicmUM. Glaucous, very smooth ; spikelets 5 to 9-flowered, whitish 



all over with downy hairs. Lake shores, Wis., Mich., Can. 



3 T. caninum R. & S. DOG'S COUCH GRASS. St. 2 3f, erect or oblique ; Ivs. 

 flat, smooth; stip. almost wanting; spikelets about 5-flowered; glumes 3-veined, 

 and with the outer palea, terminating in a straight, scabrous bristle, longer than 

 the flowers. Delaware (Muhlenberg) to Mich. 



52. SECA'LE, L. RYE. (Celtic segal, from sega, a sickle.) Spike- 

 lets solitary on the teeth of the rachis, 2 3-flowered. the 2 lower flow- 

 ers fertile, sessile, opposite, the upper one abortive ; glumes subulate, 

 opposite, shorter than the flowers ; lower palea with a very long awn, 

 upper often bifid at apex ; scales abortive, hairy. 



S. Cereale L. Culm hairy beneath the spike, 4 6f ; Ivs. lance-linear, rough- 

 edge, and rough above, glaucous ; spike about 5' long, linear, compressed ; pale* 

 smooth, lower ciliate on the keel and margin ; awns scabrous-ciliate, long, straight, 

 erect. -(D or (D The native country of this highly valuable grain is unknown. 

 It has long been cultivated. Jn., JL 



53. LEPTOCH'LOA, Beauv. (Gr. henro^ slender, %A6a, grass.) 

 Spikelets 2 to oo-flovvered, subsessile, in one-sided spikes forming a pani- 

 cle raceme; glumes carinate, awnless; pales membranous, lower 3-veined, 

 carinate, awnless or awned ; stamens 3 ; stigmas simply plumous. 

 Lvs. flat and soft. Pan. composed of many slender spikes. (Oxydenin, 

 Nutt.) 



| Spikelets sessile, few-flowered, lower pale entire at the acntish apex NOR. 1, 2 



fc?I>ikelets pedicellate, 6 to 9-flowered, lower pale notched and mucronate at end No. 3 



1 L. mucronata Kunth. Culm geniculate at the lower joint?, 2 to 3f, ascend- 

 ing ; sheaths hairy, loose ; Ivs. lance-linear, tapering to a long acumination ; pan. 

 a foot or more long, the numerous spikes very slender, 2 to 4', flowering their 

 whole length; spikelets green, sessile, minute, 2 to 4-flowered, awnless, shorter 

 than the tnucronate-pointed glumes. (J) Fields, S. States, common. JL Oct. 



2 L. flliformis R. & S. Culm geniculate below, upright 3 to 4f ; sheaths some 

 hairy; Ivs. lance-linear, rough-edged, twice larger (If by 9" or less) than in the 

 last ; pan. near 2f long, the numerous spikes very slender, straight and suberect, 

 5 to 8' long; spikelets purple, sessile, minute, sub-3 -flowered, a little exceeding 

 the merely acute glumes ; fls. obtuse. (D ? Fields, S. States. (Oxydonia attenu- 

 ata Nutt.) 



3 L. fascicularis Gr. Glabrous, stout, ascending from a geniculate base 2 to 

 4f; Ivs. long and broad (If by 9", more or less); pan. dense, oblong, 9 to 15', 

 with very many sessile, secund spikes 2 to 3' long : spikelets short-pediceled, 

 lance-oblong (3 to 4"), flat, about 9-flowered; lower pale oblong, ciliate below, 

 mucronate-awned in the notch at the apex. Marshy soils, N. Y. to La.. "W. to 

 111. (Festuca, Lam. F. multiflora "Walt. F. polystachia H.) 



54. GYMNOPO V GON, Beauv. (Gr. yv/zvcf, naked, Trw-ytov, beard.) 

 Spikes setaceous, corymbously paniculate ; spikelets remote, 1-flowered, 

 with a rudiment ; glumes 2-keeled, subequal, lance-linear ; lower pale 

 with a straight awn from a little below the tip ; rudiment aristiform. 

 Low, reed-like. (Anthopogon, Nutt.) 



1 G. racemosum Beauv. Culm ascending 18 to 24', with short internodcs: 

 Ivs. ovate-lanceolate, 1 to 2' by 4 to 8", glabrous, flat, spreading, in 2 rows; 

 sheaths hairy at the throat; lig. obsolete; pan. large, pyramidal, branches simple, 

 rigid, flowering near their whole length, soon spreading or reflexed, 3 to 5' long; 



