320 POACEiE. 



Film. ;>: 405(1 7(i;3). AreiHi Hall, Stop, hitrod. 74(1777). 7'rir/w- 

 (/l(//n .Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1:41 (1S()3). ncranduliu liu^iL ¥1. 

 Maine-i't-Loiru, :.'8 (180'.t). Aiirmdus l^eiuiv. Agrost. 5 (IST^). 

 Xesonema Ifatlii. Neogeiiyt. 4 (IS'^o). PcreUenm I'resl, J[eli(|. 

 llii'uk. l:-^:)3, /. ;J7 (18;U)). liromidinni Xoos, 1*1. Meyeu. I'A 

 (18:55). 



Spikolcts 1-4 mm. \o\\\i, l-lloworod, iJcdicolhite in a loose spread- 

 ing or narrow or even spikelike panicle, the raehilla articulate above 

 the outer glumes, glabrous or nearly so, not |>roduced beyond the 

 llower. The two outer glumes persistent, narrow, keeled, acute, 

 uiuiwned; iloral glume shorter, broad, delicately hyaline, unawned 

 or with a slender twisted dorsal awn, attached below, or sonietiuies 

 above the middle; palea very thin, not over Indt' the length of its 

 glume, often very minute or none. Stamens 3. Styles very short, 

 distinct. Grain enclosed but atlheront. 



Elegant tufted or creeping annual or i)erennial grasses, the 

 blades flat or setaceous, the panicles terminal, often slender with 

 many filiform branches, spikelets very numerous. 



There are about 100 species, very widely distributed in temper- 

 ate and in cold climates; a few are almost cosmopolitan. A small 

 number are i)rominent for meadows, pastures, and lawns. 



It is very difficult to separate the genus into sections; the pres- 

 ence of a dorsal awn or the absence of an awn hos l)c-en used, but 

 this has been shown to be a very inconstant and unreliable charac- 

 ter, as some of the seedlings from the same plant have awns on tlie 

 florets, while others have none. 



A. Floret awned (a) 



a. Awn exserted (d) 



d. Awn very slender, flexuose, over 5 mm. long. . 1, 2 



d. Awn bent, not flexuose, shorter (e) 



e. Panicle thin, branches thin, flexuose. ... 3 



e. Panicle stout, branches ascending 4 



e. Panicle slender, open, small 5, G 



e. Panicle spikelike ([)) 



J). Plants dwarf, 4-10 cm. high 7 



p. Plants much taller 8 



