74 



out most of the States east of the Rocky Mountains. It grows in 

 loose tufts, the culms about 2 feet high, the lower leaves and sheaths 

 soft hairy, the upper leaves narrow, 3 to 4 inches long, gradually 

 pointed. The panicle is very simple or little branched ; the 

 spikelets are loosely arranged on the branches, almost sessile, and 

 rather on one side of the branches. They are large and grace- 

 ful in appearance, each one consisting of two perfect flowers and a 

 small chaffy knob, called a rudiment. The outer glumes are thin, 

 scarious-margined, five to seven nerved, purplish, and three to four 

 lines long. The flowering glumes are thicker, strongly ribbed, sca- 

 rious at the blunt apex, and minutely rough on the nerves. The 

 two flowers are somewhat distant from each other. The palets are 

 narrower and shorter than the flowering glumes, arched and ciliate 

 on the keels. This grass is eaten and relished by cattle, but is prob- 

 ably not well adapted to cultivation. 



12. M. Porteri, Scrib. (M. mutica, var. parviflora, Porter.) Colo- 



rado to Arizona. 



13. M. spectabile, Scrib. California, Oregon, Montana. 



14. M. stricta, Bol. California, Oregon, Montana. 



It will be observed that the larger portion of the species of this 

 genus belong on the Pacific side of the continent. They are mostly 

 perennial and f urniuh a large quantity of foliage, but we are not in- 

 formed as to their economic value. Experiments should be insti- 

 tuted to ascertain this point. 



Diaerhena, Raf. 



Panicle narrow and loose ; spikelets three to five flowered, the one 

 or two uppermost imperfect; outer glumes unequal, shorter than 

 the flowers, coriaceous, the lower narrow, acute, keeled, one-nerved, 

 the upper larger, ovate, five-nerved, keeled, acute, or mucronate ; 

 flowering glumes broadly ovate, rigidly coriaceous, rounded on the 

 back, three-nerved, the nerves prominent and uniting at the apex in 

 a strong cuspidate or awl-shaped tip ; palets shorter than their 

 glumes, rigid, broad, two-keeled. Stamens 2. Grain very large, 

 rather longer than the flower, oblong, obtusely pointed. 

 1. D. Americana, Beauv. Ohio, Illinois, and southward. 



Stkeptogyne, Beauv. 



Spikelets one to four flowered, cylindrical, shortly pedicellate, iD 



