86 SO Ul HERN CALIFORNIA ACADEMY OF SCIENCE:^. 



^ FIMBRISTYLIS Vahl, Enum. 2:85. 



Annual or perennial herbs, with culms leafy at base. 

 Spikelets terete, several or many-flowered. Scales all fertile, 

 spirally imbricated, mostly deciduous. Perianth none. Stamens 

 1-3. Style 2-3-cleft, often flattened and ciliate, enlarged at base, 

 but wholly deciduous at maturity. Achenes lenticular or 3- 

 angied. 



A genus of 150 species, or more, mostly, of tropical or sub- 

 tropical climes; sparingly represented in North America. The 

 following is the only species reaching our region. 



1. Fimbristylis thermalis, Watson, U. S. Geo. Expl. 40th 

 Par. 5:360; Bot. Cal. 2:223. 



Perennial by horizontal, jointed, scaly rootstocks; culms 

 few-clustered, flattened, scabridous, 4-6 dm. tall; leaves 2-3 

 mm. wide, rough-margined, shorter than the culms; involucral 

 leaves 2-4, much shorter than the rays, subulate, with broad 

 pubescent bases ; umbel compound, rays 3-8 ; spikelets 5-15, 

 ovoid, becoming oblong at maturity and 2cm. long ; scales pale 

 brown, concave, oblong, 4 mm. long, the midrib excurrent as 

 a stout mucro at the obtuse apex; stamens 3, the filaments 

 flattened and the anthers tipped with a subulate appendage; 

 style ciliate, 2-cleft ; achenes ash colored, shining, minutely per- 

 pendicularly striate, obovoid to globulose, 1mm. long. 



In soil moistened by warm water. Arrowhead and Water- 

 man Hot Springs, 1750 ft. alt., in the foothills of the San Ber- 

 nardino ^Its., near the town of the same name; Parish. It has 

 been collected at hot springs at several places in Kern and 

 Inyo counties, and in Ruby Valley, Nevada. The type was col- 

 lected in Owens Valley. 



"^ Plate VIII Plant : the umbel at the left in flower, thai at the 

 right mature, the scales mostly fallen away. a. Scale X6, 

 b. Achene, X12. 



The Bees of Southern California. V. 



BY T. D. A. COCKERELL. 



Xylocopa. 



Fulvous, with fulvous pubescence; very large 1 



Black 2 



Dark blue or green 5 



1. Abdomen largely fuscous (Khasia Hills, India).... 



ruf escens, Smith. 



Abdomen entirely fulvous (So. Calif) 



varipimcta, Patton, male. 



2. Large, over 25 mm. long (So. Calif) 



varipuncta, Patton, female. 



Smaller, less than 20 mm. long 3 



