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



Urachne Trin., Fund. Agrost. 109. 1820. Trinius cites Beauvois's two figures 

 mentioned above, which represent Piptatherum coerulescens and P. punctatum, 

 and at the end of his generic description lists three species, U. coerulescens 



(M ilium coerulescens Desf.), U. rircscens 

 (Milium paradoxum Scop.), and U. parviflora 

 (Agrostis miliacca L.). The first of these is 

 chosen as the type. 



Fendlera Steud., Syn. PI. Glum. 1 : 419. 1854. 

 Type, F. rhynclielytroides Steud., the only 

 species described. This is the same as Ory- 

 zopsis hymenoides. 



The commonest species is Oryzopsis 

 hymenoides (Roem. and Schult.) 

 Kicker, found throughout the region 

 west of the Rocky Mountains on dry 

 soil. This has an open divaricate pani- 

 cle and densely long-silky lemmas. 

 The species of Oryzopsis are grazed by 

 stock, but usually are not in suffi- 

 cient abundance to be of impor- 

 tance, except Indian mountain 

 rice (O. hynwnoides) . 



The allied Mexican and South 

 American genera, Nasella Desv. 

 and Piptochaetium Presl, differ in 

 having an obliquely obovate fer- 

 tile lemma, the apex gibbous, and 

 the awn eccentrically attached. 



76. STIPA L., the spear-grasses. 



Spikelets 1-flowered, disarticu- 

 lating above the glumes, the artic- 

 ulation oblique, leaving a .bearded, 

 sharp-pointed callus attached to 

 the base of the floret ; glumes mem- 

 branaceous, often papery, acute, 



FIG. 91. Millet grass, Milium effusum. Plant, X \ ', spikelet and floret, X 5. 



acuminate or even aristate, usually long and narrow ; lemma narrow, 

 terete, firm or indurate, strongly convolute, terminating in a usually 

 bent and twisted, prominent, persistent awn; palea inclosed in the 

 convolute lemma. 



