GRAMINACEAE (GRASS FAMILY) 47 



A. Spikelets 6-14 mm. long; lower glume about | as long as the upper including awn- 

 point if present. 



B. Plants 3^18 dm. high; lemma obtuse or eraarginate, not awn-pointed, i-veined, 

 no sterile lemma above the first flower. — (Gk. spartine = a cord; referring to the 

 tough slender leaves.) Spartina (cord grass) 



BB. Plants 1. 5-4-5 dm. high; lemma 3-pointed, each point with a short awn, 3-5- 

 veined, with 1-3 sterile lemmas above the first flower. E. — (Honor of C. Boutelou, 

 a Spanish agriculturist.) Bouteloua oligostachya (grama grass) 



AA. Spikelets 2-4 mm. long; lower glume ^ to once as long as the upper. 



C. Spikes all or nearly all from the tip, widely spreading when mature; rachilla 

 jointed above the glumes. 



D. Perennial; spikelets i-flowered, 2 mm. long. W. E. — An excellent pasture 



grass, but a weed in fie\ds. (Gk. kyon = a dog, odons = a tooth; the i-sided 



spike suggested a row of dog teeth.) Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda grass) 



DD. Annual; spikelets several-flowered, 3-4 mm. long. W. E. — (Ceres, the 



Greek goddess of the harvests, was worshiped in the town of Elusin.) 



Eleusine indlca (yard grass) 



CC. Spikes scattered along a common axis, rather closely applied to this axis; rachilla 



jointed below the glumes. E. — (Honor of J. Beckmann, a German botanist.) 



Beckmannia erucaeformls (slough grass) 



HORDEAE (Barley Tribe). — Leaf blade with a, more or less well- 

 marked pair of auriculate appendages at the base. Inflorescence a spike, 

 with I or more spikelets at each joint of the rachis ; rachis zigzagged, chan- 

 neled. Spikelets sessile in the alternate notches of the rachis, i- to many- 

 flowered. Glumes awnless or awned or none. 



A. Spikelets solitary at each joint of the rachis. 

 B. Spikes 4 mm. or less wide; spikelets i-flowered. U. C. — (Honor of F. Lamson- 

 Scribner, an American agrostologist. ) Scribneria bolanderi (thread head) 



BB. Spikes 5 mm. or more wide; spikelets 3- to several-flowered. 

 C. Spikelets placed with edge to the rachis; glumes i, or in the terminal spikelet 2. 



LOLIUM (p. 48) 

 CC. Spikelets placed with flat side to the rachis; glumes 2. 

 D. Lemma with distinct callus at base, falling at maturity with the grain; grain 

 adherent to the palet. AGROPYRON (p. 48) 



DD. Lemma without a distinct callus, persisting after the grain has fallen; grain 

 free from the palet. 

 E. Glumes subulate, i-veined. W. E. — ■ Cultivated for its grain. (Celtic 

 sega = a sickle; hence a grain for cutting.) Secale cereale (rye) 



EE. Glumes lanceolate or ovate. 3- to many-veined. W. E. — Cultivated 

 for grain. Our best source of flour. (L. tritum = rubbed or ground; because 

 it was ground into flour.) Triticum vulgare (wheat) 



AA. Spikelets 2 or more at each joint of the rachis, but often some sterile. 

 F. Spikebts 3 at each joint of the rachis, sterile or i -flowered. HORDEUM (p. 49) 

 FF. Spikelets 2-3 at each joint of the rachis, 2- to many-flowered. / 



G. Glumes entire; rachis continuous, rarely breaking into pieces when mature. — • 

 (Gk. elyein = to roll up; in some species the spike is somewhat enwrapped by the 

 leaf sheath.) Elymus (wild rye) 



GG. Glumes 2- to many-parted or -cleft; rachis jointed, readily falling into pieces 

 when mature. — (Gk. sitas = wheat or grain; likely because the plants hav 

 wheatlike heads.) Sitanion (bristly wild rye) 



