Avena fatua I.. W'ilil Onts. 



Alniiulaiil llii<iiif{l)i>iit tin- state, rxii].! in the (k'scrts ami iiiovintaiiis. In 

 till- ruUiiailo Dcsirt, iiififciiiiMit at UrauUy, in 1913. 

 Avena fatua L. var. glabrescens t'cti-rni. 



l*iol)al>Iy as widely (listiil)iiti'<l as the species, but less ahinulant, and not 

 distingiiislialde from it l)y gross aspect. 



Tlie wild oats nuist have l)een among the earliest introductions of the mis- 

 sion era, and heing well suited to the conditions, have spread with rapidity. 

 Newberry" says that in 1855, throughout central and southern California, 

 wherever the ground was not occupied by forests, wild oats "covered surfaces 

 of many hundreds of miles in extent as completely as the grasses cover the 

 prairies of Illinois," and he was inclined to regard them as indigenous. This 

 report indicates that at this early date they were even more al)undant than 

 at present, the increase of cultivation having curtailed their area. They are 

 frequent in cultivated grounds, especially as "volunteers" in grain fields, but 

 they also occupy great tracts of hills and plains. They afford good pasturage, 

 and in early years were extensively reaped for hay. It is Ijy way of California, 

 doubtless, that the wild oat has reached other parts of the United States. All 

 are natives of the Mediterranean region, hut entered this state from Mexico. 

 In recent years the tame oat is much grown here, and is a frequent temporary 

 escape. 

 Cynodon Dactylon Pers. Bermuda Grass. 



Abundantly naturalized in irrigated or damp soils, both cultivated and un- 

 broken, and often persisting in dryer places. A most obnoxious weed in 

 orchards, vineyards and gardens; very destructive to alfalfa fields, where it 

 chokes out atid supplants the crop, rendering it necessary to replant frequently, 

 and in the same way destroying lawns. The seeds are carried by the irrigating 

 water, so that it is practically impossible to prevent its entrance into irrigated 

 lands. In the Colorado Desert it was frequent in fields and about houses in 

 1913. 



Altliough now so abundant it probably was not a very early introduction, 

 at least in the south. At San Bernardino it was still rare about 1880, and I have 

 found no early record of its presence in the state. Often, but wrongly called 

 "Devil Grass," properlv the name of I'aspalum distichum L. Native of the warmer 

 parts of the Old World. 

 Chloris elegans HBK. 



Cominon in the bottom lands of the Colorado River, since before I860;'- thence 

 water-borne to the Salton Sink, where it is aVjundant in fields and about habita- 

 tions. Near Mecca, a reduced form, less than inch high, in flooded ground in the 

 open desert. Parish in 1913. Greenland Kanch, Death Valley, Coville & Funston in 

 1891, but not found there by me in 1915. An occasional waif in the cismontane 

 region. Riverside, Reed in 1904. Pomona, Mrs. H. S. Yates in 1914. Claremont, 

 in alfalfa fields, Johnston in 1918. Native of Mexico. 

 Eleusine indica Gaertn. Goose Grass. 



Sii.ninsily introduced in lawns, svipposedly in clover seed, Los Angeles, 

 Davidson in 1907. Native of the Old World. 

 Arundo donax L. Reed. 



Occasional, and sometimes locally abundant, along the banks of streams. Los 

 Angeles River, Lyon in 1889. Santa Ana River, near Redlands, Parish in 1894. San 

 Gabriel River, Johnston in 1918. Occasional in ornamental cultivation, frorn which 

 an escape. Probably first brought into the state during the mission period. An 

 aged Mexican informed Mr. Lyon that as early as 1820 it was so plentiful along 

 the Los Angeles River that it was gathered for roofing material, for which it 

 was preferred to the "tides" commonly vised for that purpose. Native oi 

 Europe. 

 Eragrostis mexicana Link. 



An infreauent weed bv roadsides and along ditches. Santa Ana, Parish in 

 1882, and Redlands in 1892. San Diego, Orcutt in 1885. Native of Mexico. 

 Dactylis glomerata L. Orchard Grass. 



An infrequent and short-lived wayside waif. San Bernardino about 1886. Clare- 

 mont and Pomona, Johnston in 1918. Frequent in parts of northern California. 

 Not cultivated in the south. Native of Europe. 

 Cynosurus cristatus L. Dog's-tooth Grass. 



Rare in lawns, Los Angeles, Davidson. Native of Europe. 

 Lamarkia aurea Moench. Golden- top Grass. 



First collected in the United States by Parry & Lemmon in 1875, a few plants 

 only, at the mouth of Mill Creek. San Bernardino Mts.. but probably already 

 established abovit Los Angeles, where found in great abundance by Parry in 

 1881, although at that date it was still very rare about San Bernardino. Now 

 abundant in snring in dry soils throughout southern California. Also common 

 in central California, where the earliest record is Edendale, Santa Clara Valley, 

 Davy in 1893. Native of the Mediterranean region. 



'Newberry T. S. Pac. R. R. Survey, 6 pt. 3:13. 1857. 

 =Thurber. G. Pac. R. Rept. 5, pt. 4:30. 1860. 



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