Obder 166.— GRAMINE^. '?78 



1. LEER'SIA, Soland. Cut Grass. False Rice. (In honor of 

 John Daniel Leers, a German botanist.) — Spikelets 1-floweied, ij , flat ; . 

 glumes none ; paleas boat-shaped, compressed, awnless, bristly-ciliate on 

 the teel, nearly equal in length but the lower much broader, enclosing 

 the free, flat grain (caryopsis). — 11 Swamp grasses, with flat, retrorsely 

 rough-edged leaves, and the fls. racemous-paniculate, somewhat secund, 

 jointed to the pedicels. 



1 D. oryzoides Swartz Cut Grass. Culm retrorsely scabrous, 3— Bf high ; it* 

 lanceolate, oarinate, the margin very rough backwards ; sheaths also very rough with 

 retrorse prickles; panicle much branched, dififuso, sheathed at the base; spikelets 

 spreading; paleiB full 2" long, ciliate on the keel, white, compressed and closed ; sta. 

 3. — y A veiy rough grass, common in swamps, by streams, etc., IT. S. and Can. 

 Aug. 



2 Ii. Virgfnica "Willd. "White Grass. Culm slender, branched, geniculate or 

 decumbent at base, 2 — 3f long, nodes retrorsely hairy ; Ivs. lance-linear, roughish ; 

 sheaths roughish backwards, striate; panicle. simple, at length much exserted, the 

 lower branches diffuse ; fls. pedicellate, in short, appressed, flexuous racemes; 

 lower palea scarcely viore than 1" long, green-veined, muoronate; sta. 1 — 2. — y 

 Damp woods, U. S. and Can. Aug. 



3 L. lenticuMris llichx. Catch-flt Grass. Plant smoothish; culm erect, 

 Z^-4f high ; panicle erect; ^. large, roundish-oval, -near 3" diam., imbricatedf 

 sta. 2; pales with the keel and veins ciliate. — If. Wet places, Ct. (Eaton) to Ifl. 

 and S. States. Not common. Said to catch flies by the sudden closing of its 

 pales. 



2. ORY^ZA, L. Rice. (Gr. dpv^a, from the Arabic, ^ritz.)— Spike- 

 lets 1-flowered, i^ ; glumes 2, very small, cuspidate; pales 2, boat- 

 shaped, flattened, the lower one broader and mostly tipped with a 

 straight awn ; stam. 6 ; stigmas with branching hairs ; grain oblong, 

 free, smooth, enveloped in the pales. — Mostly ®. Fls. in a branching 

 panicle of racemes. Spikes hispid, jointed to the pedicel. 



O. sativa L. Culm 2— 4f high, striate ; Ivs. long, rough, lance-linear ; ligule 

 long (near 1'), erect, pointed; panicle with erect branches, 6 — 9' in length; outer 

 pale strongly 6-veiQed or keeled, Jiispid-ciliate and commonly tipped with a short 

 awn. — Extensively cultivated in the S. States, both in upland meadows and in 

 low inundated grounds. The former variety — the upland rice, is usually awnlesa, 

 the latter is awned. A most important Cereal, f Asia. 



3. ZIZA^NIA, Gron. Indian Rice. {Zi^dviov, the Greek name of 

 some similar plant.) — 8 Glumes 0; spikelets 1-flowered; palesa 2, 

 herbaceous, i Paleaa subcqual, awnless ; stamens 6. $ Spikelets 

 subulata ; palese unequal, linear, lower one with a straight awn ; styles 

 2 ; caryopsis enveloped in the plicate palem. — Stout, aquatic grasses, 

 with a large panicle of both kinds of flowers. 



1 Z. aqudtica L. Culm J' in diameter, fistular, smooth, 6f high ; Ivs. Ian co- 

 linear, 2 — 3f long, an inch wide, smooth, serrulate ; panicle a foot or more long; 

 pyramidal, the lower branches divaricate and sterile, the upper spicate and fertile; 

 spikelets on clavate pedicels ; awns long (18"), hispid ; fr. slender, f long, black- 

 ish, very caducous, farinaceous. — '4 Inundated shores of ponds and rivers, TJ. S. 

 and Can. The fi'uit, which is very abundant, affords sustenance to wild geese, 

 ducks, and other water fowls. Aug. 



2 Z. miliacea Michx. Culm erect, 6 — lOf high; Ivs. very long, narrow, glau- 

 cous; panicle large, diffuse, pyramidal; glumes with short (1 — 3") awns; <5 and 

 8 fis. intermixed; sty. 1; fr. ovate, glabrous.— If Growing in water, Ohio te 

 Fia. and La. Lvs. coriaceous, 2 — Sflong, 6 — 12' wide. Apr. — Aug. 



3 Z. ? flMtana Michx. Culm long, slender, branching, floating in the water ; 



