GRIFFITHS THE GRAMA GRASSES. 



405 



On account of the abundance of root leaves and its bunched nature, this is a rather 

 good forage grass. It does not appear to be able, however, to compete successfully 

 "enough with other species to make it of any great importance. The species is common 

 on the southern plains and in the Rio Grande region and is rather important in the 

 vicinity of San Angelo, Texas. 



Pringle's no. 9018, distributed as B. bromoides Lag., Nealley 17, Heller 1485, Tracy 

 8105, and Reverchon 1135 are representative of the species. 



HERBARIUM SPECIMENS. 



Texas: Drummond 374. Ball 1110, Chillicothe. Wright 75, Dallas. Letterman, 

 Dallas, August, 1882. Hall 771, Houston. Nealley in 1889; 17, Houston. Rever- 

 chon 1155, 4215 and 522, Dallas. Heller 1485, Nueces County. Piper, Kingsville. 

 Warburton, Terrell. Tracy 8861 and 8889, Corpus Christi; 8878, Kingsville; 8105, 

 Abilene. Havard, Eagle Pass. Jermy, San Antonio. Smith, Kerrville and San 

 Diego. Bray 329, Llano; 296, Fredericksburg. Bush 244, Houston; 176, 

 Columbia. Plank 28, Burnet. 



Mexico: Pringle 9018, Diaz, Coahuila. 



25. Bouteloua loph.ostach.ya Griseb. 



Bouteloua lophostachya Griseb. Abh. Ges. Wiss. Gottingen 19: 302. 1879 (Symb. 

 Fl. Argent.). The type (Hieronymus's no. 971 from Argentina) in the Grisebach 

 Herbarium, has been examined. 



Bouteloua nana Griseb. Abh. Ges. Wiss. Gottingen ISfc: 303. 1879 (Symb. Fl. 

 Argent ). The type in the Grise- 

 bach Herbarium (Hieronymus's no. 

 721, Guazapampa, Argentina) is 

 unquestionably a depauperate form 

 of B . lophostachya . Bouteloua nana 

 is also a younger plant but the 

 panicle and the floral and habit 

 characteristics are in every respect 

 identical with those of Hierony- 

 mous 971. 



DESCRIPTION. 



A cespitose, harsh, rigid peren- 

 nial, with freely branching stems 

 and short, stout rootstalks ; sheaths 

 striate, short but completely cov- 

 ering the lower internodes; blades 

 rigid, divaricate, harsh, keeled, 

 sharply cuspidate-pointed, 2 to 4 

 cm. long, abundant below but few 

 above ; panicle with 15 to 30 spikes 

 scattered along the main axis, 5 to 

 10 cm. long, occasionally 2 or 3 

 spikes together; spikes loosely and 

 indistinctly pectinate, 1 to 3 cm. long; spikelets 15 to 20, consisting of a lower perfect 

 floret, with 2 to 4 rudiments above; glumes very slightly scabrous-keeled and short- 

 awned, the first slightly shorter than the second, about 2 mm. long; lemma pubes- 

 cent, 3 to 3.5 mm. long, 3-awned, the central awn 2 or more times longer than the 

 lateral; palet obovate, 2-nerved, awnless, about 1.5 mm. long; rudiment consisting 

 of 4 or even 5 well-developed 3-awned scales resembling the lemma but diminishing 



Fig. 54. — Bouteloua lophostachya. a, Spikelet; 6, c, lemma 

 and palet of first floret; d-h, rudimentary second, third, 

 fourth, fifth, and sixth florets; i, two views and cross sec- 

 tion of caryopsis. a, Scale 10; b-i, scale 15. From Kurtz 

 12687. 



3fc 



