176 



GRAMINEAE. 



Vol. I. 



32. STIPA L. Sp. PI. 78. 1753. 



Generally tall grasses, the leaf-blades usually convolute, rarely flat, the inflorescence panic- 

 ulate. Spikelets i-flowered, narrow. Scales 3 ; the two outer narrow, acute or rarely bearing 

 an awn, the third rigid, convolute, with a hairy callus at the base, and bearing a more or less 

 bent persistent awn, which is spiral at the base. Palet 2-nerved. Stamens 3, rarely fewer. 

 Styles short, distinct. Stigmas plumose. Grain narrow, free, tightly enclosed in the scale. 

 [Greek, in allusion to the tow-like plumes of some species.] 



A genus of about 120 species, distributed throughout the temperate and tropical zones. 

 Besides the following, some 20 others occur in the southern and western parts of North America. 

 Type species : Stipa pennata L. 



Outer scales of the spikelet 2"-6" long : 



Obtuse or blunt-pointed, 2" in length. 1. 5. canadensis. 



Acute, 4"-6" in length. 



Awn less than five times the length of the scale. 2. 5 1 . viridula. 



Awn more than seven times the length of the scale. 3. S. avenacea. 



Outer scales of the spikelet 10" long or more. 



Base of panicle usually included in the upper sheath ; third scale 4"-6" long ; awn slender, curled. 



4. 5". comata. 



Panicle exserted from the upper sheath ; third scale y"-i2" long, bent. 5. S. spartea. 



i. Stipa canadensis Poir. Macoun's or Richardson's Feather-grass. Fig. 418. 



Stipa juncea Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. 1 : 54. 1803. Not 



L. 1753- 

 Stipa canadensis Poir. Encycl. 7: 452. 1806. 

 Stipa Richardsonii A. Gray, Man. Ed. 2, 249. 1856. 



Not Link, 1833. 

 Stipa Macounii Scribn. ; Macoun, Cat. Can. PI. 5 : 



390. 1890. 



Culms glabrous, i°-2° tall, erect, simple, slen- 

 der, smooth or somewhat scabrous. Sheaths 

 shorter than the internodes;. ligule about 1" long, 

 obtuse or truncate; blades 2'-s' long, ¥'-l" wide, 

 flat, becoming involute-setaceous in drying, sca- 

 brous; panicle 2.'-$' long, contracted, the branches 

 i'-3' long, erect, naked below; spikelets borne at 

 the ends of the branches; outer scales about 2" 

 long, obtuse or blunt-pointed, glabrous; third 

 scale somewhat shorter, pubescent with long ap- 

 pressed silky hairs, callus obtuse; awn 4"-s" long, 

 contorted. 



Shaded places, New Brunswick to northern New 

 York, Ontario, Saskatchewan and northward. July. 



2. Stipa viridula Trin. Feather Bunch-grass. 

 Fig. 419. 



Stipa viridula Trin. Mem. Acad. St. Petersb. (VI.) 2 : 39. 



1836. 

 Stipa spartea Hook. Fl. Bor. Am. 2: 237. 1840. Not Trin. 



1831. 



Glabrous, culms ii°-3° tall, erect, simple, smooth. 

 Sheaths shorter than the internodes; ligule i"-2" long; 

 blades smooth or scabrous, the basal ones involute- 

 filiform, one-third to one-half as long as the culm, those 

 of the culm 3'-o/ long, broader; panicle spike-like, strict 

 and erect, branches appressed; outer scales of spike- 

 let 3"-4" long, long-acuminate, glabrous; third scale 

 shorter, more or less pubescent with long appressed 

 silky hairs, callus acute; awn i'-il' long, bent, loosely 

 spiral at base. 



Meadows and prairies, Athabasca to Minnesota and 

 Colorado. Wild Oat-grass. July-Aug. 



