148 CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBARIUM. 



imen is Panicum lanuginosum Ell. The other specimen is the same as the specimen of 

 P. pubescens in the Michaux herbarium. Lamarck mentions having seen a dwarf speci- 

 men of this species in the herbarium of Vaillant, who received it from Sherard in 1721. 

 This specimen is in the general herbarium of the Paris Museum. I was not able to 

 identify this, but it is apparently different from any of our North American species. 

 Although this Sherard specimen is the first mentioned, I do not think it should be taken 

 as the type, as Lamarck was evidently describing Michaux's plant, though the descrip- 

 tion is modified by the Sherard plant, e. g., "La tige qui quelquefois n'a guere plus 

 de six pouces de hauteur [the Sherard plant], s'eleve d'autres fois a la hauteur d'un 

 pied ou un peu plus." It is scarcely surprising that the vernal and autumnal states 

 of Panicum scoparium should be described as different species. 



Panicum nitidum Lam. 



"In Pensylvania, Carolina.'' The specimen lacks spikelets, but is evidently 

 Panicum. angustifolium Ell. or one of the closely allied species such as P. arenicoloides 

 Ashe. It is the vernal state, somewhat pubescent on lowermost portions, otherwise 

 glabrous. 



Panicum nitidum Lam. was first described in 1791. a The description is very meager 

 and would not serve to identify the species. Only the panicle is described. The 

 plant was col lee led by Fraser. A somewhat more extended description is given by 

 Lamarck in the Encyclopedia, 6 but is only an amplification of the original with the 

 addition of loaf characters. We are told, for example, that the stem is jointed and 

 provided with loaves. The type specimen in the Lamarck herbarium consists of a 

 panicle and the uppermost joint of the culm with its leaf. The blade is reflexe'd, 

 and the node shows sparse reflexed hairs. It is Panicum barbulatum Ell., not Michx. 

 (P. subbarbuldtum Scribn. & Merrill). The panicle is purplish. The most important 

 character given by Lamarck in his second description is the pubescence at juncture 

 of the blade and sheath. The label on this plant is "de la Caroline[,] Fraser." This 

 is evidently the type specimen. In the herbarium of Drake de Castillo there is a sheet 

 obtained from Richard marked "Herb. Michaux from Pennsylvania" which is 

 Panicum tenue Muhl. and probably is the specimen referred to by Lamarck c as 

 a small-flowered variety collected by Michaux in Pennsylvania. Panicum tenue is 

 m >i known to occur in Pennsylvania, and the location is probably an error. It will be 

 noted that the published locality for P. nitidum is "Pennsylvania et Carolina," which 

 accords with Michaux's label. Richard in sending out the plant may have shortened 

 the locality to "Pennsylvania." Panicum tenue Muhl. occurs from southern Virginia 

 southward. Scribner and Merrill d have discussed Panicum, nitidum Lam. and identi- 

 fied it with P. spretum Schult. (P. eatoni Nash and P. paucipilum Nash.). The figure 

 was taken from the plant in the Michaux herbarium, which, as stated above, is P. 

 angustifolium Ell. The name P. nitidum Lam. must be used for what has been called 

 P. subbarbulatum Scribn. & Merrill, while the plant described by Scribner and Mer- 

 rill as /'. nitidum must be called P. spretum Schult. 



Panicum barbulatum Michx. 



There are three specimens and two labels upon this sheet. The label upon which 

 the name is written prominently at the top has "Hab. in Canada P. capillari affine ad 

 ripas amnis : Rivierre a Jacques Cartier dicti legi. ' ' The other has ' ' Rivierre a Jacques 

 Carrier Route a Queb. P. barbulatum." The twe larger plants are the vernal state of 

 P. gravius Hitchc. & Chase. There is also a small specimen of P. lindheimeri Nash. 

 In the Drake de Castillo herbarium is a specimen from Michaux sent out by Richard 

 which is labeled P. barbulatum, "Caroline." This is Panicum ashei Pearson. There 



"Tabl. Encycl. 1: 172. cEncycl. 4: 748. 1797. 



b 4: 748. 1797. d\J. S. Dept. Agr. Div. Agrost. Bull. 24: 31. 1900. 



