114 CLASSIFICATION ACCORDING TO [CH. 



IX Spikeleis 4 — 6 flowered. 



= Annuals, about six inches high, with rela- 

 tively large and numerous spihelets for so 

 small a panicle. No " web " at the base of 

 the palece. 



P. annua, L. 



This is the small grass so common as a weed on roadsides and 

 on lawns, flowering even in winter. For other annual species of 

 Poa — P. rigida, P. loliacea and P. procumhens — see note p. 108 and 

 p. 111. 



= = Perennials. 



A With creeping stolons. 



X Stems and leaf -sheaths flattened. Panicle 

 somewhat close and secund, some spike-. 

 lets being nearly sessile. 



P. compressa, L. 



xx Stems and leaf-sheaths terete. Panicle 

 spreading viidely. 



P. pratensis, L. 



AA Without creeping stolons. Sterna and 

 panicle slender, round. A shade-plant. 

 P. nemoralis, L. 



The rarer species of Poa are P. bulbosa with the stems swollen 

 below ; P. alpina, also sUghtly bulbous and often viviparous ; P. laxa 

 an alhed Highland species ; and P. distans a maritime form aUied 

 to P. maritima (see p. 111). 



** Spikelets with awns or with sharp terminal 

 points (awn-points) to the glumes or palese. 



In some species and varieties of Festuca awns are not evident 

 (see p. 116) : the hard paleae simply end in acute or acuminate 

 points, but these are sharp and in most cases much more so than in 

 any Poa. "When not so evident, the student will probably think 

 the specimen is a Poa and the flora must be consulted. 



