No. 46. 
BOUTELOUA TRIFIDA Thurber. 
Culms 6to 12 inches long, slender, numerous, crowded ona short rootstock; base 
often thickened, covered with short, broad sheaths. 
Leaves; blades small, radical sometimes 2 or 3 inches folie. those of the culm 
often reduced to 4 inch, smooth or sparsely hairy; sheath shorter than the 
internode. 
Inflorescence of 4 to 6 erect or somewhat spreading smooth spikes, with about 
15 to 30 spikelets rather loosely disposed. 
Spikelets 3 lines long including the awns, containing 1 perfect and 1 imperfect 
flower. 
Empty glumes slightly unequal; upper 14 lines long; lower one-fourth shorter, 
smooth, 1-nerved; flowering glumes narrow, body oblong, smooth, less than 1 
line long, dividing above into 3 long-awned lobes (2 to 24 lines long). 
Palet somewhat shorter and narrower than its glume, 2-toothed at the apex. 
Imperfect flower reduced to 3 slender awns slightly enlarged toward the base, 
on a short, smooth pedicel. 
PuaTE XLVI; a, apie b, empty shumnde: ce, flowering glume; d, palet; e, 
imperfect flower. 
This species closely resembies B. Burkei, No. 36, but a close comparison shows 
important differences. 
