i8o 



GRAMINEAE. 



Vol. I. 



5. Aristida fasciculata Torr. Triple-awned 

 Beard-grass. Needle-grass. Fig. 427. 



Aristida fasciculata Torr. Ann. Lye. N. Y. 1 : 154. 1824. 

 Aristida dispersa Trin. & Rupr. Mem. Acad. St. Petersb. 

 (VI.) 5: 129. 1842. 



Glabrous, culms i°-2° tall, erect, slender, branched, 

 smooth. Sheaths shorter than the internodes, ligule 

 short, ciliate; blades 2'-6' long, 1" wide or less, flat, 

 attenuate into a long point, smooth or scabrous ; panicle 

 3'-?' long, at first strict, the branches finally more or 

 less spreading; first scale of spikelet 1 -nerved, or occa- 

 sionally with an obscure additional nerve on each side, 

 shorter than the second scale; third scale equalling or 

 longer than the second ; awns divergent, the middle 

 one 4"-8" long, the lateral ones shorter. 



Dry soil, Kansas to California and Mexico. Dog-town 

 Grass. Purple beard-grass. Aug.-Sept. 



6. Aristida Fendleriana Steud. Fendler's Triple- 

 awned Grass. Fig. 428. 



A. Fendleriana Steud. Syn. Gram. 420. 1855. 



Culms densely tufted, 6'-io' tall, erect, rigid, simple; 

 leaves confined to the base of the culm ; sheaths with a 

 tuft of hairs on each side at the apex; blades involute, 

 often curved, \" in diameter, those on the culm usually 

 2, up to 2' long, the basal ones longer ; panicle 2'~A' l° n g> 

 strict, its branches short and appressed and usually 

 bearing but a single spikelet; spikelets 6"-7i" long, the 

 2 outer scales i-nerved, the first scale about i as long 

 as the second, the flowering scale \\"-6" long, equalling 

 or a little shorter than the second scale, the awns 

 ascending, the central one i'-2' long, the lateral awns 

 a little shorter. 



In dry sandy soil, South Dakota to Utah, Texas and New 

 Mexico. Figured in our first edition for A. purpurea Nutt., 

 which has not as yet been detected within our limits. 



7. Aristida Wrightii Nash. Wright's Triple- 

 awned Grass. Fig. 429. 



A. Wrightii Nash, in Small, Fl. SE. U. S. 116. 1903. 



Culms tufted, i°-2° tall, simple, leafy; blades in- 

 volute, those on the culm usually 3 or 4, i'-8' long, 

 often curved, as are the commonly longer basal 

 ones; panicle 4'-8' long, its branches more or less 

 spreading, the longer usually bearing 2-4 spikelets; 

 spikelets 6"-y¥' long, the 2 outer scales i-nerved, 

 the first scale about i as long as the second, the 

 flowering scale s"-6" long, usually a little shorter 

 than the second scale, the awns ascending, the cen- 

 tral one i'-ii' long, the lateral awns a little shorter. 



In dry sandy soil, Kansas to Texas and New Mexico. 

 July, Aug. 



