CLASS III. ORDER III. 35 



lanceolate, five nerved, connected by a web ; stipule 

 short and blunt. Stn. 



Spear grass oi' meadow grass is found in all situations, consti- 

 tuting a considerable portion of the common turf in pastures, 

 road sides, &c. Culms leafy, slender, smooth, often stoloniferous. 

 Leaves spreading, blunt, with obtuse or truncated stipules. Pan- 

 icle large, loose, of horizontal fine branches, bearing fnany ovate 

 spikelets of about four flowers. — June. — PerenniaL 



This is an excellent and useful grass. 



PoA coMPREssA. L. Blue g7'ass. 



Panicle condensed, its branches leaning one way; 

 erect, before and after flowering. Culm ascending, 

 compressed. Sni. 



Root creeping. Stem decumbent at base, erect above, very 

 much compressed, whence the name. Leaves commonly glau- 

 cous, narrow, with long sheaths. Panicle erect, crowded, tend- 

 ing to one side, obtuse ; its branches short and rough, appressed 

 to the stem except at the time of flowering. Spikelets ovate. 

 Florets closely imbricate, varying in number, connected at base 

 by a thin web. — Dry grounds. — July, August. — Perennial. 



PoA ANNUA. L. Annual Spear grass. 



Panicle divaricated; spikelets ovate ; florets a little 

 remote, five ribbed, destitute of a web ; stem oblique, 

 compressed. Sm. 



A smaller grass but equally common with the first. It is 

 annual in duration, but rapid in increase, and commonly the first 

 grass to appear on new grounds. Culms smooth, flattened, 

 spreading obliquely. Leaves flaccid, obtuse, their margin waved 

 in the middle. Stipules sharp. Panicle erect, with its branches 

 depressed when old. 



PoA NERVATA. WHld. Meadow Spear grass. 



Panicle diff"use, weak, nodding, spikelets five flow- 

 ered ; florets seven nerved, obtuse. 



A tall slender meadow grass, the panicle commonly nodding, 



