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Fe 
BRIEFER ARTICLES. 
NOTES ON NORTH AMERICAN GRASSES. TY: 
POA FLAVA L. and P. SEROTINA EHRH. 
Iv the first edition of his Species Plantarum (1:68. 1753), LINNAEUS 
describes this species as follows: : 
7. Poa panicula diffusa, spiculis ovato oblongis nitidis. Gron. virg. 13. 
Gramen pratense majus virginianum. Pet. mus. 2309. 
Habitat in Virginia. ° 
This has been considered by many authors as identical with Poa serotina 
Ehrh. which occurs in Europe and also in the northern part of North 
America. The identity of the two was probably assumed from Munro’s 
Statement: to, P, flava, marked Gron. virg. 13, is Poa crocata Michx.; but 
that name should be altered to P. flava.” (Identification of the grasses in 
Linnaeus’ herbarium, Proc. Linn. Soc. Bot. 6: 43.) 
Referring to Gronovivs’ Flora Virginica we find that he cites Clayton 
773. Clayton’s no, 273, then, becomes the type of Poa flava L. Clayton’s 
Plants are in the herbarium of the British Museum. Mr. A. B. RENDLE 
kindly examined this plant and informs me that it is Triodia cuprea 
a Kuntze States that Poa flava L., P. seslerioides Michx., and Triodia 
Pe i are identical, and hence proposes the name Sieglingia flava 
thy (Rev. Gen. 2:789). He does not state, however, upon what he 
his Statement. The fact that Linnaeus based the name upon a plant 
‘ollected by Clayton and gave the locality as Virginia should have led 
—— botanists to doubt the reference of Poa flava to Poa serotina, 
the latter plant d 
W 00 flava was ta 
LDENOW, and 
8 Seslerioid 
crocata Michx. Although Munro states that Poa flava L. 
“ crocata Michx., I cannot confirm this. I did not observe 
naeus’ herbarium nor Poa crocata in Michaux’s herbarium 
the description and the type locality, near Hudson’s Bay, 
one of the northern Poas allied to P. serotina, such as P. 
207 
P 0a flava in Lin 
. Paris, rom 
May Well be 
1904) 
