PllAlltlE GRASSES AND FLOW K US. 609 



Dixtivlilis marUima Raf., var. Htricta Tlnuber, very abiiiidaiit on the borders of 

 saline and alkaline iiiarsbes. 



Poa teniiifolia Nutt., one of the much prized "bunch grasses," common from 

 Brandon westward to the Rocky Mountains, and the most important pasture grass of 

 British Columbia, Vancouver Island, and southward. 



Poa nemoralis L., forming much of the pasture northward. 



Poa serotina Ehrh., plentiful in swampy places on lakes and rivers. 



Poa ijratctisis L., the. famous "blue grass" of Kentucky, indigenous and abun- 

 dant, rapidly taking the place of other species westward, and destined, according to 

 Macoun, to be the chief pasture grass of this region. 



Glyceria disfans Wahl., var. airoules Vasey, abundant m sabne marshes from 

 Winnipeg westward. 



Festuca scabreUa Terr., a ^^aluable "bnnch grass," abundant at Brandon and 

 westward to the mountains. 



Bronius l;almii Gray, abundant northward. 



A(jropyrum (jlaucum R. & S., var. occidentale V. & S., common on Tiioist laud, 

 especially where the soil is somewhat saline and alkaline; in Montana, according to 

 Scribner, the most highly valued of the native grasses for hay. 



Agropyntm tcnerum Vasey, abundant, with the preceding, from Winnipeg to 

 Edmonton and southward; one of the best grasses for hay. Dr. Vasey remarks 

 that in southwestern Minnesota and South Dakota, wherever the ground has been 

 broken and not cultivated, Af/ropyrum ylaucum and A. lenernm. have commonly taken 

 possession. 



Agropyrum caninum R. & S., plentiful in the northern prairie region, from Win- 

 nipeg to Edmonton. 



Hordeum juhatumli.., A worthless species, well named "sijuirrel-tail grass" and 

 " tickle grass;" very abundant by roadsides and on slightly saline, moist land. 



Ulymus canadensis L., a conspicuous species, common on the banks and bluffs of 

 rivers. 



Besides the grasses, the prairies bear mtxhitudes of native flowers of 

 showy red, purple, bhxe, yellow, and orange hues, and pure white, which 

 bloom from early spring till the severe frosts of autumn. Earliest of all is 

 the j^asque flower, named for its blooming at Easter, common over all the 

 prairie region. With this, or later in the spring, are other species of wind- 

 flowers, the wild columbine, indigenous buttercups, violets, and many more. 



During the summer the prairies are decked with species of larkspur, 

 Psoralea, Amorpha, Petalostemou, Astragalus, Oxytropis, Vicia, Lathyrus, 

 Geum, rose, evening- primrose, many CompositJB, nearly all conspicuous 

 MON XXV 39 



