GRASSES 



Fig. 526. 

 Japanese barnyard 

 millet ( Paniewm 

 Orus-galU). 



Fig. 527. 



Yellow foxtail 



Whcetochloa glauca). 



Fig. 528. Common millet or 

 Hungarian-grass (Ohcetoch- 

 loa Italica). 



ulated above the usually wing- 

 keeled glumes. Below the lemma 

 are two narrow or bristle-formed 

 scales, which represent rudimen- 

 tary flowers or sterile lemmas. 

 Fertile lemma hard and shining in 

 fruit and closely enveloping the 

 grain. 



arundinaeea, Linn. Reed 

 Canary-grass. (Fig. 532.) A 

 perennial grass from a creep- 

 ing rootstock, growing to the 

 height of two to four feet, 

 with a narrow, branched 

 panicle. Native in the north- 

 em half of the United States and also in 

 Europe and Asia, where it occurs in wet 

 meadow land. It is an important hay plant 

 in the northern part of the Great Plains 

 region and to the eastward perhaps more 

 especially. A variety with striped leaves 

 is cultivated for ornament under the name 

 of ribbon-grass. 



Canariensis, Linn. Canary-grass. (Fig. 



533.) An erect annual, with a compact, 



ovoid spike or head about an inch long. 



ill A native of the Old World, but introduced 



r ^- in waste places in America and also occa- 



I \ \ sionally cultivated for its seed, which is 



used for bird-food. 

 13. Anthoxanthum (Greek, yellow flowers). A 

 genus of three or four species of European grasses, 

 one of which is occasionally cultivated in this 

 country as a forage grass. Spikelets one-flowered, 

 with two unequal glumes, two narrow scales repre- 

 senting rudimentary flowers or sterile lemmas, and 

 a perfect flower with a lemma shorter than the 

 glumes. Aromatic annual or perennial grasses, 

 with contracted, spike-like panicles. 

 tdoratum, Linn. Sweet Vernal-grass. (Pig. 534.) 



Fig. 529. 

 Pearl miUet 

 {Fennisetum 

 spicatutn). 



Fig. 530. St. Augustine grass 

 (StenotaphruTn secundatuTn). 



A perennial sweet-scented 

 grass, native of Europe, but 

 now introduced and widely 

 distributed in the northern 

 half of the United States. It 

 is rarely grown in mixtures 

 for meadows ; it imparts a 



sweet odor to the hay. It is an inferior fodder 



plant. 



14. Arrhenatherum (Greek, arrhen, masculine, 

 and ather, awn, referring to the awned staminate 

 flower). A genus of six species of perennial 

 grasses native of the Old World. Spikelets two- 

 flowered, the lower staminate, the lemma bearing 

 a twisted and geniculate dorsal awn, the upper per- 

 fect and short-awned or awnless. Inflorescence a 

 narrow panicle. 



elatius, Beauv. Tall Oat -grass. (Pig. 535.) A 

 tufted grass, two to five feet high, sparingly cul- 

 tivated for hay. 



15. Phleum (Greek name for a kind of reed). 

 A genus of annual or perennial grasses native in the 

 temperate regions of both hemispheres. Spikelets 

 one-flowered, laterally compressed -keeled, the thin 

 lemma shorter than the glumes. Inflorescence a 

 a dense cylindrical spike-like panicle terminating 

 the culm. 



pratense, Linn. Timothy. (Fig. 536.) Native of 

 Europe and extensively cultivated in the cooler 

 parts of North America as a forage plant. A short- 

 lived perennial with erect stems and bulbous, 

 thickened base. In New England this is often 

 known as Herd's-grass. 



16. Alopecurus (Greek, fox-tail). A genus of 

 annual or perennial grasses of about twenty species, 

 found in the temperate regions of both hemispheres. 

 Spikelets one-flowered, laterally compressed, ciliate 

 along the keels of the glumes, lemma awned from 

 the back ; palea usually none. Inflorescence a 

 dense cylindrical or ovate, spike-like panicle. 



pratensis, Linn. Meadow Foxtail. A hardy peren- 

 nial grass from a creeping rootstock, with leafy 

 stem and cylindrical panicles. Occasionally grown 

 in meadow mixtures on wet land in northeastern 

 United States. 



17. Ammophila (Greek, sand-loving). A genus of 

 grasses of one or two species, occurring on the 



