Oeder 156.— GRAMINEiE. Q(fl 



cave, coriaceous, inner thin or hyaline, like the (smaller) pales ; sta- 

 mens 3. — Grass erect, tall. 



1 R. campestris Nutt. ? Glabrous ; culm simph, slender (2 to 4f ), with black- 

 ish, aomewhftt geniculate joints ; Ivs. very narrow, involute-setaceous ; spike soli- 

 tary, terminal, little thicker than the culm, 2 or 3' long ; ped. spikelet obsoktt ; g 

 gl. ovate, acute, faintly impressed-dotted.— La. (Hale.) 



2 R. nig6sa. Glabrous; culms rather stout, 3 to 5f, erect, Iranched ; Ivs. flat, 

 linear ; spikes solitary, several, terminal and axillary, 2 to 3', less thick than the 

 base of the culm; ped. ft. of 2 empty ghjmes; 5 outer gl. ovate, acute strongly 

 reiiculittely rugous. — Prairies, La. (Hale.) (Apogonia, Nutt) 



66. STENOTAPHRUM, Trin. Spike compressed ; splkelets 2-flow- 

 ered, iu pairs at each joint, imbedded, 1 sessile and 1 pedicellate (or in 

 4s to 6s) ; glumes membranous, the outer minute, inner large ; flowers 

 each of 2 coriaceous pales, similar, but the lower $ ; styles 2, slender; 

 stamens 3 ; grain free. — 2f. Culms decumbent, branched joints of spikes 

 not separable. 



S. dimidiatum. Glabrous, very leafy; culm 2 to 4f; Ivs. flat, broadly linear, on 

 broad, open sheaths ; spikes lateral and terminal, solitary, much compressed, 3' 

 by 2 to 3", the rachis flat on the back, spikeleta in 2 lateral rows iu front, the sea- 

 rile embraced by the pedicel of the other. — Low grounds, coastward, S. States. 

 Jn. — Sept. (Rottboellia, Thumb. S. Americanum Sohrank.) 



67. ERIANTHUS, Rich. Plumb Grass. Beard GpAss. (Gr. 

 ^piov, wool, dvOog.) Spikelets 2-flowered, all fertile, in paii's at each 

 joint of the slender rachis, one sessile, the other pedicellate ; glumes 

 membranous, subequal, longer than the flowers ; pales hyaline, the 

 lower flower of 1 neutral, the upper of 2, perfect, with the lower pale 

 awned ; spikelets involucrate at base, with a tuft of bristly hairs. — 71 

 Stout, erect grasses, remarkable for their large woolly or silky, tawny 

 panicles. 



♦ Hairs of tho involucre mucli longer than the spilcelet Nos. 1. 3 



* Hairs of the involucre shorter than the spiltelet, or nearly none Nos. 8, 4 



1 E. alopecuroldes Ell. Culm 5 to 8 or lOf, erect, stout, silky bearded, espe- 

 cially at the joints ; Ivs. broadly linear ; flat, silky pubescent, 2 to 3f by 1 to 2' ; 

 pan. dense, cyliudric-oblong, very large (12' to 20' long); hairs of the invol. twice 

 longer than the short (2 to 2^") spikelets, a third as long as ike straightish awn 

 which is terminal on its pale. — Swampy pools in pine barrens, Ta. to Fla. and La. 

 The plume-like panicles are magnificent I 



2 E. cont6rtus Ell. Culm 4 to 6^ erect, glabrous; Ivs. broadly linear, flat, 

 smooth, except a tuft of silky hairs at base ; pan. contracted, oblong, 6 to 10' ; 

 haiis of the invol. long, silky, thrice longer than tlie spikelet (which is 3"), § the 

 length of the spirally contorted awn which issues from near tJie base of its deeply 

 bifid pale. — "Wet grounds, about Charleston, S. C. to N. Orleans. Pan. of a lighter 

 hue than the last. 



3 E. brevib^rbis Mx. Culm stout, 3 to If, erect, glabrous ; Ivs. broad-linear, 

 smooth, except at the base; pan. large (1 to 2f), contracted, lance-oblong, the 

 rao. more distinct from the fewer hairs ; hairs of the invol. hardly as hng as the 

 larger (4'') spikelet, \ the length of the awn which is some twisted and its pale 

 bifid. — Low grounds, S. States. Sept, Oct 



4 E. strictus Baldw. Culm 4 to If, strictly erect and glabrous ; Ivs. very long, 

 narrower (3 to 6'') than iu the other species, rough-edged ; pan. very strict, 1 to 

 2f long, branches erect, appressed ; invol. of hairs minute; awn straight, terminai 

 on its deciduous pale.— -Ga. to La, The whole panicle is reddish brown. Aug., 

 Sept. 



68. SACCHARUM, L. Sugar Cane. (Gr. aaKxap, Arabic, souhar. 

 Eng. sugar.) Spikelets all fertile, in pairs, one sessile, the other pedi- 



