IDENTIFICATION OF GBASSES. 



15 



sheaths not compressed, reddish pink below ground ; blades flat, sharp 

 pointed, rough on the margins, glossy beneath, nerved above, three- 

 sixteenths inch wide; nerves separated into pairs by white lines when 

 viewed by transmitted light. 



This grass closely resembles both Italian rye-grass and perennial rye-grass. It may be 

 distinguished from Italian rye-grass by its rough-margined blades (test with the tongue) 

 and also by the nerves in the blades. Perennial rye-grass is distinguished by having its 

 leaves folded in the bud. 



16. Quack-grass (Agropyron repens; fig. 20). 



A pale-green perennial, creeping by its long rootstocks; leaves rolled in 

 the bud ; collar broad, continuous, hairy ; auricles slender, clawlike ; ligule 

 membranous, short, entire ; sheaths hairy, not compressed ; blades flat, finely 

 hairy at the base, sharp pointed, one-fourth inch wide ; nerves broad, not 

 prominent ; rootstocks strong, elongate, one-eighth inch or more in diameter. 



This is a common, very aggressive grass. The hairs, while quite noticeable in the 

 spring, are often invisible in the fall unless a lens is Used. 



Fig. 21.- 



-Virginia wild rye (Elymus 

 virginicus) . 



Fig. 22.- 



-Slender wild rye (Elymus 

 striatus). 



17. Virginia wild rye (Elymus virginicus; fig. 21). 



A loosely tufted perennial ; leaves rolled in the bud ; collar broad, glabrous, 

 continuous ; auricles short, clawlike ; ligule membranous, very short, entire ; 

 sheaths not compressed, glabrous, fine veined, retrorsely hairy ; blades flat, 

 glabrous, dull above, glossy beneath, rough on the margins, one-fourth to 

 one-half inch broad, sharp pointed ; nerves small, indistinct. 

 This grass resembles the small grains in habit of growth. 



18. Slender wild rye (Elymus striatus; fig. 22). 



A loosely tufted perennial ; leaves rolled in the bud ; collar narrow, 

 glabrous, continuous ; auricles long, slender, clawlike, overlapping • ligule 

 short, membranous, entire ; sheaths not compressed, hairy, the hairs point- 



