GBAMINB.fi. (grass FAMILY.) 633 



36. BE.i2A, L, QnAKiNO Gbass. (PI. 10.) 



Spikelets many-flowered, ovate or heart-shaped, flattish-tumid ; the flowers 

 closely imbricated. Glumes roundish, unequal (purple). Lower palet round- 

 ish and entire, flattened parallel with the glumes, yentricose on the back, heart- 

 shaped at the base, papery-membranaceous and becoming dry, scarious-mar- 

 gined, obscurely many-nerved ; the upper palet much smaller, ovate, flat. Sta- 

 mens 3. Stigmas branched-plumose. Grain flattened parallel with the palets, 

 adhering to the upper one. — Leaves flat. Panicle loose, diffuse, with the large 

 and showy spikelets often drooping on delicate pedicels (whence the name, an 

 ancient Greek appellation for some kind of grain, from ^pi'fo), io slumber (Linn.), 

 or jSpi'^o), to bend dxrwnwards.) 



1. B. siiDiA, L. Panicle erect, the branches spreading; spikelets 5-9- 

 flowered (3" long) ; glumes shorter than the lower flowers; root perennial. — 

 Pastures: sparingly eastward. June. (Adv. from Eu.) 



37. PESTtrCA, L. Fescue-Gkabs. (PI. 10.) 



Spikelets 3 - many-flowered, panicled or racemose ; the flowers not webby at 

 the base. Glumes unequal, mostly keeled. Palets chartaceous or almost coria- 

 ceous, roundish (not keeled) on the back, more or less 3-5-nerved, acute, 

 pointed, or often bristle-awned from the tip, rarely blunt ; the upper mostly ad- 

 hering at maturity to the enclosed grain. Stamens 1-3. — Flowers, and often 

 the leaves, rather dry and harsh. (An ancient Latin name.) 



* Flowers awl-shaped, bristle-pointed or avmedfrom the tip : panicle contracted. 

 ■I- Annuals or biennials, slender, 5'- 18' lUgh: leaves convolute-bristle-form. 



1. F. MvtjRns, L. Panicle spike-like, one-sided ; spikelets about 5-flowered ; 

 glumes very unequal ; aum much longer than the palet, fully 6" in length ; stamen 1 . 

 — Dry fields. New Jersey, S. Penn., and southward, July. (Nat from Eu.) 



2. F. teil611a, Willd. Panicle spike-like, one-sided, or more compound 

 and open ; spikelets 7 - 13-flowered ; awn 1" - 3" long, shorter than or equalling the 

 palet ; stamens 2. — Dry, sterile soil, especially southward. June, July. 



H- t- Perennial, tufted, 6' - 24' high : stamens 3. 



3. P. ovina, L. (Sheep's Ebsche.) Panicle somewhat one-sided, short, 

 usually more or less compound, open in flowering ; spikelets 3 - 8-flowered ; awn 

 not more than half the length of the flower, often much shorter or almost want- 

 ing. — Indigenous in Northern New England, Lake Superior, and northward : 

 naturalized farther south as a pasture grass. June. — Varies greatly. — Var. 

 vivfpAKA (which with us has running rootstocks), a state with the spikelets 

 partially converted into leafy shoots, is found on the alpine summits of the 

 White Mountains of New Hampshire, and high northward. — Var. duriCscula, 

 (F. duriuscula, i.) is a tall form, with spikelets rather larger, usually in a more 

 compound panicle ; culm-leaves often flat or less convolute, and the lower with 

 their sheaths either smooth or hairy. New England to Virginia ; nat., and in- 

 digenous northward. — Var. RfjBRA (F. rubra, L.) has running rootstocks and 

 forms looser tufts ; the leaves often reddish and pubescent above. Naturalized 

 eastward: wUd, Lake Superior, i>. Bobbins, and northward. (Eu.) 



