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1. P. communis, Trin. Reed Grass. New York to Texas and the 

 Kooky Mountains. 

 A tall, coarse, perennial grass, growing on the borders of ponds 

 and streams, almost rivalling sorghum in luxuriance. It attains a 

 height of 6 to 10 feet; the culms sometimes an inch in diam- 

 eter, and leaves an inch or two in width. The panicle is from 9 to 

 15 inches long, loose but not much spreading, of an oblong or lan- 

 ceolate form and slightly nodding. The branches are very 

 numerous, irregularly whorled, 4 to 8 inches long, much subdivided, 

 and profusely flowering. The larger panicles form very ornamental 

 plumes, almost equal to those of Arundo Donax, so much cultivated 

 "for ornamental purposes. It sometimes attains the height of 15 feet. 



Monanthochloe, Engelm. 



Spikes very short, two to three flowered, dioecious, sessile, single 

 or fascicled at the distant nodes of the culm, terminating short, 

 leafy-bracted branches, almost hidden by and seeming like a con- 

 tinuation of them, very similar in the two sexes ; outer glumes 

 similar to the distichous leafy bracts ; flowering glumes linear, 

 rigid, obtuse; palets hyaline, two-nerved, infolding the stamens or 

 styles. 



1. M. littoralis, Engelm. Near the coast, Florida, Texas, to Cali- 

 fornia. 



Muneoa, Tors. 



Spikelets two or three together in small, sessile, leafy heads or 

 ■clusters terminating the numerous fasciculate and lateral branches, 

 .aud at the nodes, each about three-flowered, the upper flower imper- 

 fect ; outer glumes shorter than the flowers, lanceolate, acute, hya- 

 line one-nerved ; flowering glumes larger, herbaceous, rather rigid,, 

 three-nerved, entire or two-toothed, the central nerve excurrent in a 

 mucro or short awn ; palets hyaline, narrow, two-keeled, complicate. 

 1. M. squarrosa, 1'orr. Arid plains of the West. 



Lamaeckia, Moenck. 



Panicle short and dense, the spikelets one-sided on the crowded 

 branches, fertile aud sterile intermixed in small clusters ; fertile 

 spikelets short and two-flowered, the lower flower perfect, the upper 

 one rudimentary and long-awned, outer glumes lanceolate-subulate, 



