gramine^e. Cgrass family.) 631 



inappropriate name, and there is now no obstacle to restoring to this species 

 the earlier and unobjectionable (but not descriptive) name of P. (lexuosa. 



13. P. brevifblia, Muhl. Culms l°-l£° high from running rootstocks, 

 2 - 3-leaved, the ripper leaves very short (4' - 2' long), lanceolate, all abruptly cuspidate- 

 tipped; branches of the short panicle mostly in pairs ; spikelets 3-4-flowered; 

 lower palet rather obscurely nerved, cobwebby at the base. (P. pungens, Nutt., excl. 

 sjn. Ell. P. euspidata, Burton. The older and more appropriate name is here 

 restored.) — Rocky or hilly woodlands, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and sparingly 

 westward. April, May. — Culm scarcely surpassing the long root-leaves. 



35. EEAGEOSTIS, Beauv. Eragrostis. (PI. iO. 



Spikelets 2 - 70-flowered, nearly as in Poa, except that the lower palet is but 

 3- (rarely 1-) nerved, not webby-haired at the base, and deciduous; and the up- 

 per one persistent on the rhachis after the rest of the flower has fallen. — Culms 

 often branching. Leaves linear, frequently involute, and. the ligule or throat 

 of the sheath bearded with long villous hairs. Panicle various. (An early 

 name, probably from epa, earth, and Agroslis, in allusion to the procumbent 

 habit of the original species.) 



* Prostrate and creeping, much-branched: root annual: spikelets fiat, imperfectly 



dioecious, clustered, almost sessile, in the more fertile plant almost capitate. 



1. E. reptarts, Nces. Spikelets linear-lanceolate, 10-30-flowered; flow- 

 ers lance-ovate, acute; leaves short, almost awl-shaped. (Poa reptans, Michx.) 



— Gravelly river-borders: common. Aug. — Flower-branches 2' -5' high. 



* * Diffusely spreading, or the flowering culms ascending, low (6'- 15' high) : spike- 



lets large, densely-flowered, flat, forming a narrow crowded panicle. 



2. E. POiEOiDES, Beauv. Lower sheaths often hairy ; leaves flat, smooth ; 

 spikelets short-pedicelled, lance-linear or oblong-linear, 8 - 20-flowered, lead-col- 

 ored (2" -5" long); flowers ovate, obtuse, the lateral nerves evident. (Poa 

 Eragrostis, L.) — Sandy waste places, eastward : scarce. (Nat. from Eu.) 



Var. megastachta. Sheaths mostly glabrous; spikelets larger (3''- 10" 

 long), becoming linear, whitish when old, 10-50-flowered. (E. megastachya, 

 Link. Briza Eragrostis, L.) — Similar situations, and more common. Aug. 



— Emits a sharp, unpleasant odor. (Nat. from Eu.) 



* * * Erect, or in No. 3-5 diffusely spreading and ascending: panicle open, its 



branches capillary ; the spikelets proportionally small, sometimes minute. (Num- 

 ber of flowers in the spikelet very variable, according to age, Sfc. ) 

 -t- Culms slender, branching and decumbent or spreading at the base, from an annual 

 root: leaves narrow, flat, soft: branches of the narrow panicle rather short and 

 thickly-flowered, not bearded in the axils, except sometimes the lowest sparingly. 



3. E. piiAsa, Beauv. Panicle elongated-oblong, with rather erect branches 

 (except at flowering-time) ; spikelets 5- 12-flowered (2" -4" long, purplish-lead- 

 color), becoming linear, about equalling their pedicels; glumes (small) and lower 

 palet obtuse, the latter broadly ovate, l-nerved (lateral nerves obsolete). (P. pilo- 

 sa, L. P. Linkii, Kunth.) — Sandy or gravelly waste places, S. New England 

 to Illinois, and southward. Aug. — Plant 6'- 12' high. (Nat. from Eu.) 



