746 GRAMINEJE deschampsia 



ARBHENATHERDM 



about IJi lines long, erose-truncate at the apex : awn straight, inserted 

 above the middle, 1-2 lines long. Common in moist meadows, California 

 to Alaska and across the continent. 



D. atropurpnrea Scheele Flora xxvii, 56. Stems 6-18 inches high, 

 erect, simple, rigid : sheaths shorter than the internodes : ligules truncate, 

 1 line long or less : leaves 2-5 inches long, 1-2 lines wide, flat: panicle 1-2 

 inches long, narrow, usually purple or purplish, its branches erect, or 

 sometimes ascending, the lower 6-18 lines long: empty glumes broadly 

 lanceolate, acute, 2)4 lines long : flowering glumes oblong, erose-truncate 

 at the apex, about IJ^ lines long : awn bent and much exceeding the 

 glume, Alpine summits of the high mountains, Oregon to Alaska and 

 across the continent. 



D. elon grata Munro in Benth. PI. Hartw, 242, t. 228. Densely cespi- 

 tose perennial : stems very slender, 1-2 feet high, simple, erect, : leaves 

 very numerous, mostly basal,, 1-18 inches long, flat and smooth, less than 

 1 line wide : ligules elongated : panicle very long and narrow, 4-12 inches 

 long, its very unequal scabrous capillary branches mostly appressed: 

 empty glumes about 2 lines long, linear-subulate, nearly equal, green and 

 scabrous on the keel : flowering glumes about 1 line long, smooth and 

 shining, with a silky tuft at base, irregularly 5-toothed above, with a very 

 slender awn 2 lines long from near the base, Common in open woods, 

 California to Washington, west of the Cascade Mountains. 



D. ' calycina Presl Bel. Hsenk. i, 231. Loosely tufted annual : stems 

 slender, 2-24 inches high, sometimes geniculate and sparingly branched 

 below : leaves very narrow those of the stem 1-2 inches long, with elonga- 

 ted ligules : panicle very loose, and open, 1-12 inches long, the lower branch- 

 es in threes, the others in pairs or solitary, distant, mostly spreading: em- 

 pty glume 3 lines long or more, linear-lanceolate, green and rough on the 

 keel : flowering glumes about a line long, shining below its truncate 4- 

 toothed apex, the hairs at base % as long : awn inserted just below the 

 middle, about 3 lines long, twisted below and bent near the middle common 

 in places that are wet in spring. California to Washington. 



31 ARRHENATHERUM Beauv. Agrost. 55, t. 11, fig. 5. 



Tall perennial grasses with flat leaves and narrow or open 

 panicles. Spikelets 2-flowered, the upper flower perfect, the lower 

 staminate the rachella extended beyond the flowers. Glumes 4, 

 the 2 lower empty, thin-membranous, keeled, very acute or awn- 

 pointed, unequal, persistent : flowering glumes rigid 5-7-nerved 

 deciduous, the first bearing a long bent and twisted dorsal awn 

 inserted below the middle, the second unarmed. Palet hyaline, 

 2-keeled. Stamens 3. Styles short distinct. Stigmas plumose. 

 Grain ovoid free. 



A. ELATiU" Beauv. M. & K. Deutsch. Fl. i, 546. Glabrous perennial : 

 stems 2-4 feet high, erect, simple : lower sheaths longer than the internodes 

 ligules 1 lines Itwig: leaves 2-12 inches long, 1-4 lines wide, scabrous: 

 panicle 4-12 inches long, narrow, branches erect, the lower 1-2 inches 

 long, empty glumes finely roughened, the second 4 lines long, nearly twice 

 as long as the first one : flowering glumes about 4 lines long. In meadows 

 and waste places ; naturalized from J£urope. 



31 HOLCUS L. Sp. 1047. 



Annual or perennial grasses with flat leaves and open or spike- 

 like panicles. Spikekts dioecious, 2-flowered, the lower flower 



