No. 15. 
LYCURUS PHLEOIDES H. B. K. 
Plant perennial from thickened, slightly bulbous base. 
Culms tufted, erect or ascending, rather weak, branching, solid, nearly terete, 
smooth, 1 to 2 feet tall. ¥ 
Leaves; radical numerous, with short, close sheaths and flat, folded or invo- ' 
lute blades 1 to 2 inches long, with white margins and midrib; of culm 4 or 5; 
sheaths much shorter than internodes, loose and open, smooth; blades like those 
of radical leaves but longer; ligule membranaceous, ovate, acute, oblique, decur 
rent on one side, 1 line long. bee 
Inflorescence a dense, cylindrical spike } inch in diameter, 2 to 3 inches long. 
Spikelets 1 to 3 on each of the short branches of the rachis, one or two | 
which are commonly imperfect; first glume obiong, thin, 2-nerved, 4 to $line lon; 
terminating in 2 or (rarely) 3, unequal, hispid awns, 1 to 3 lines long; second g 
ovate, acute, carinate, membranaceous, 1-nerved, ~ to 1 line long, terminating in 
an awn 2 to 3 lines long; floral glume lanceolate-oblong, acute, pubescent through- | 
out, thicker than the empty glumes, 3-nerved, 1} to 2 lines long, terminating in a 
hispid awn 1} to 2 lines long; palet lanceolate, 2-toothed at apex, rounded, 2-nerved, 
thinly pubescent, 14 lines long; the flowers are subject to the attack of an insect, — 
which renders the palet inflated and hardened below. 
Grain narrowly lanceolate or linear, yellow, 4 line long. 
PLATE XV; A, perfect spikelet, with abortive spikelet below; a, spikelet with 
the palet distorted; 6, first empty glume; c, second empty glume; d, floral glume, 
ventral view; e, palet; f, palet of pistillate flower distorted by an insect. 
Texas and Mexico, northward to Colorado. 
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