26 CONTEIBUTIONS FROM THE NATIONAL HERBAEIUM. 



Perhaps no other species of grass is so polymorphous as Festuca ovina, the Old 

 World forms of which have been classified into numerous categories. The North 

 American forms are far less numerous, and may be distinguished by the following key: 



KEY TO THE SUBSPECIES OF FESTUCA OVINA, 



Leaf blades firm, cylindric or terete even when dried. /' 

 Lemmas awned. 



Leaf blades capillary .3 to .6 mm. broad. 



Plants 20 to 60 cm. high; panicle 2 to 12 cm. long. 



Lemmas usually scabrous or pubescent ovina. 



Lemmas hispidulous ovina sciaphila. 



Lemmas foliaceous, the spikelets proliferous ovina vivipara. 



Plants 12 to 30 cm. high; panicle 2 to 4 cm. long ovina supina. 



Leaf blades broader 0.7 to 1 mm. broad, 7 nerved ovina duriuscula. 



liCmmas awnless ovina capillata. 



Leaf blades smooth, green, soft, becoming longitudinally sulcate in drying. 



Culms 20 to 45 cm. high; sheaths closed only at base ovina pseudovina. 



Culms 5 to 10 cm. high; sheaths closed their whole length or nearly. 



ovina hrachyphylla. 

 Leaf blades pale or glaucescent, firm, usually harshly scabrous. 



Sheaths long-persistent on the innovations, becoming brown and papery. 



ovina calligera. 

 Sheaths not becoming brown and papery. 



Awns long, nearly equaling the lemma; sheaths not becoming explanate at 



base - ovina ingrata. 



Awns short, one-fifth to one-third as long as the lemma; sheaths becoming 

 explanate at base oiina arizonica. 



15a. Festuca ovina sciaphila (Schur) Asch. & Graebn. 



Festuca sciaphila Schur, Enum. PI. Transs. 787. 1866. ''In Laubwiildern bei Her- 



mannstadt. Schuler, Piatra-mare bei Kronstadt. 3,000^. Kalk." 

 Festuca ovina sciaphila Asch. & Graebn. Syn. Mitteleur. Fl. 2: 468. 1900; op. cit. 



Index 41. 1903. Y 

 Festuca ovina hispidula Hack. Mon. Fest. 87. 1882. " Transsylvania (Kronstadt), 



.SiJesia (Breslau), Austria inf. (St. Polten)." 

 The following specimens have been examined: 

 New York: 



Ithaca, Coville, June 12, 1886. 

 Ontario: 



Gait, Herriott, no. 21144. 

 British Columbia: 



Esquimau, Macoun 29732. 

 The last two are in the Herbarium of the Geological and Natural History Survey 

 of Canada. 



15b. Festuca ovina vivip3<ra L. 



Festuca ovina vivipara L. Sp. PL ed. 2. 1: 108. 1762. "Habitat in Alpibus Lap- 

 poniae, Helvetiae, Scotiae." 



Festuca vivipara Smith, Fl. Brit. 1 : 114. 1800. This occurs in North America from 

 Greenland and Iceland to Labrador and Newfoundland. The plant of the White 

 Mountains heretofore referred here is F. rubra prolifera. 



K'crv^ "^ ^ryUfi^'^^ 



