GKASHNE^. (grass FAMILY.) 609 



tipped with a, short bristle. — Meadows, commonly cultivated for hay. (Nat. 

 from Eu.) 



2. P. alpinum, L. Low; splice ovaie-M>r>g ; glumes strongly ciliate on 

 the back, tipped with a rough awn ahovt their own length, — Alpine tops of the 

 White Mountains, New Hampshire, and high northward. (Eu.) 



5. CB'ie'PSIS, Ait. Crtpsis. (PI. 7.) 



Spikelets 1 -flowered, in clusters which are crowded in a dense head or short 

 spike bra(!ted by the uppermost leaves. Glumes, palets, &c. as in the next 

 genus, or rather thinner. — Low and spreading tufted annuals, natives of the 

 East ; with short leaves, the sheaths of the upper spathaceous. (Name,"Kpu\/fiy, 

 concealment, the spikes at first partly hidden by the subtending sheaths.) 



1. C. scH<ENoiDEa, Lam. Leaves rather rigid, tapering to a sharp point; 

 heads or spikes oblong, 7" -20" long, thick. (C. Virginica, Nutt., excl. syn.) 



— Waste places, streets of Philadelphia and vicinity, also of Wilmington, Dela- 

 ware: becoming very common. (Nat. from Eu.) 



6. VILFA, Adans., Beauv. Ecsh-Gkass. (Pi. 7.) 



Spikelets 1-flowered, in a contracted or spiked panicle. Glumes 1-nerved or 

 nerveless, not awned or pointed, the lower smaller. Flower nearly sessile in 

 the glumes. Palets 2, much alike, of the same texture as the glumes (mera- 

 branaceo-chartaccous) and usually lotiger than they, naked, awnless and mostly 

 pointless; the lower 1-nerved (rarely somewhat 3-nerved). Stamens chiefly 3. 

 Stigmas simply feathery. Grain (caryopsis) 6blong or cylindrical, deciduous. 



— Culms wiry or rigid. Leaves involute, usually bearded at the throat ; their 

 sheaths often enclosing the panicles. (Name unexplained.) 



1. V. aspera, Beauv. Root perennial ; culms tufted (2° -4° high) ; lowest 

 leaves very long, rigid, rough on the edges, tapering to a long involute and 

 thread-like point ; the upper short, involute ; sheaths partly or at first wholly 

 enclosing the contracted panicle ; palets much longer than the unequal glumes ; 

 grain oval or oblong. (Agrostis aspera, Michx. A. claridestma & A. involtita, 

 MM. A. longifolia, Torr. ) — Sandy fields and dry hills, especially southward. 

 Sept. — Spikelets 2" - 3" long. Palets rough above, smooth or hairy below, of 

 greatly varying proportions ; the upper one tapering upwards, acute, and one 

 half to twice longer than the lower, or else obtuse and equalled or even con- 

 siderably exceeded by the lower ! 



2. v. vaginaefldra, Torr. Root annual; culms slender (6' -12' high), 

 ascending; leaves involute-awl-shaped (1'- 4' long); panicles simple and 

 spiked, the lateral and often the terminal concealed in the sheaths ; palets some- 

 what equal, acute, about the length of the nearly equal glumes : only one third longer 

 than the linear grain. (Agrostis Virginica, Mahl, not of L.) — Barren and 

 sandy dry fields : common, especially southward. Sept. 



3. V. CUSpid&ta, Torr. Root perennial ; culms and leaves more slender 

 than in the preceding ; panicle exserted, very simple and narrow ; spikelets 

 smaller, the glumes very acute, and the lower palet cuspidate. — Borders of Maine 

 (on the St. John's River, G. L, Goodale), and northwestward. 



39 



