116 BULLETIN 772, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



species, A. praecox and A. caryophyUca, which are found in southern Europe 

 and are not described by Linnaeus in his Flora Lapponica nor in his Flora 

 Suecica. Linnseus's generic idea of Aira is evidently represented by the four 

 species first included in the genus. From these Aira caespitosa is arbitrarily 

 selected as the type. 



Deschampsia Beauv., Ess. Agrost. 91, pi. 18, f. 3. 1812. The figured species, 

 the type, is D. caespitosa. 



Lerchenfeldia Schur., Enum. PI. Transs. 753. 1866. Three species are in- 

 cluded. Aira flexuosa L., on which L. flexuosa is based, is taken as the type. 



Aira danthonioides Trin. of the Pacific coast is an annual. Aira 

 caespitosa L. (Deschampsia caespitosa Beauv.) (fig. 60) is common 

 in moist or wet soil from Newfoundland to Alaska and south to New 

 Jersey, Illinois, and, in the western mountains, to New Mexico and 

 southern California. It is a tufted perennial 1 to 4 feet high, with 

 smooth, narrow, folded blades and open drooping panicles, 4 to 12 

 inches long, of shining pale-bronze or purplish spikelets. This spe- 

 cies, sometimes called tufted hair-grass, is often the dominant grass 

 in mountain meadows, where it furnishes excellent forage. 



50. ASPEIS Adans. 

 (Aira of authors.) 



Spikelets 2-flowered, the rachilla disarticulating above the glumes, 

 not prolonged; glumes about equal, acute, membranaceous or sub- 

 scarious ; lemmas firm, rounded on the back, tapering into two slender 

 teeth, the callus with a very short tuft of hairs, bearing on the back 

 below the middle a slender, geniculate, twisted, usually exserted awn, 

 this reduced or wanting in the lower floret in one species. 



Low, delicate annuals with small open or contracted panicles. Spe- 

 cies about nine, in southern Europe, three being introduced in the 

 United States. 



Type species : Aira praecor L. 



Aspris Adans., Fam. PL 2: 496, 522. 1763. The references cited are also 

 cited by Linnseus under Aira praecox. 



Caryophyllea Opiz, Seznam 27. 1852. Based on Aira caryophyllea. 



Fussia Schur., Enum. PI. Transs. 754. 1866. Three species, F. praecox, F. 

 caryophyllea, and F. capillaris, are included. Aira praecox, upon which the 

 first species is based, is taken as the type. 



Our three species are Aspris caryopJiyllea (L.) Nash (fig. 61), A. 

 praecox (L.) Nash, and A. capillaris (Host) Hitchc. ( Aira capillaris 

 Host) . They are found frequently on the Pacific coast and occasion- 

 ally in the Eastern States. The species are of no economic importance. 



Weingaertneria canescens Bernh. has been found upon ballast at 

 Philadelphia and on Marthas Vineyard. This is a low, tufted annual 

 with pale, contracted panicles, differing from the species of Aspris in 

 having club-shaped awns. 



51. NOTHOLCUS Nash. 

 (Holcus of authors.) 



Spikelets 2-flowered. the pedicel disarticulating below the glumes, 

 the rachilla curved and somewhat elongate below the first floret, not 

 prolonged above the second floret; glumes about equal, longer than 



